FC Barcelona at risk of a sanction by UEFA, including point deduction in Champions League

FC Barcelona's struggles with financial fair play are not limited to Spain. The club is at risk of serious sanctions by UEFA to take effect in next edition of Champions League, due to repeated breaches of financial fair play regulations. Specifically, UEFA claims that the Catalan club misreported income regarding their television rights in 2022. They were given a 500,000 euros fine, that the club tried to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS on its French initials) but failed.

That's according to The Times, which also reports that Chelsea and Aston Villa are also being investigated for similar charges, although in those cases, as they are not repeated offenses, the sanctions would be less severe.

Apparently, in 2022, the club led by Joan Laporta included the sale of 10% of its television rights as "other operating income", when they should have been declared as "profits from losses of intangible assets", which is not computable within the Financial Fair Play. Despite warnings by UEFA and a sanction that, at the time, they hoped to appeal, they kept doing it.

The sanctions that Barça could have in the next Champions League

Sanctions could include a larger monetary fine (the 500,000 euros fine was described as "minor") but they could even mean a reduced squad size (allowing to sign less players in the competition) or even point deductions in the next edition. In the case of Chelsea and Aston Villa, it would only be a monetary fine. A decision would be made this month.