' Financial Fair Play: QPR agree £42m settlement '

Financial Fair Play: QPR agree £42m settlement after breaking spending rules


BBC

Friday 27th July 2018

The London club were fined for breaking spending limits after their promotion to the Premier League in 2014


QPR have agreed a settlement of almost £42m with the English Football League after an arbitration panel dismissed the Championship club's claims that Financial Fair Play rules are unlawful.

The settlement includes a £17m fine, paying £3m of the EFL's legal costs and the agreement from club shareholders to write off £22m of outstanding loans.

QPR will also be under a transfer embargo for the January 2019 window.

It is believed the EFL have agreed to a payment schedule over 10 years.

The London club's case relates to breaking spending limits on their way to winning promotion to the Premier League in 2014, with QPR's wages of more than £75m making up 195% of their turnover of £38.6m.

The settlement was reached before QPR's appeal, which was heard on 2 July, against the panel of arbitration's ruling that FFP rules were both lawful and a fine of £41.965m was not disproportionate.

QPR chief executive Lee Hoos said that while they felt they had a "strong case for appeal", the settlement "is in the best interest of football as a whole".

"QPR felt it was best to put this matter behind them to enable all parties to have certainty and allow us to continue focusing on running the Club in a sustainable manner, going forward," Hoos added in a joint statement with the English Football League.

'Conscious of financial burden on QPR'

While the overall fine element, upheld by October's arbitral hearing, was vastly reduced, having QPR's owners agree to effectively write off £22m worth of outstanding debts by converting that amount into share capital will help strengthen the club's balance sheet.

The club's owners will not be able to redeem the £22m of share capital.

EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey said: "In agreeing to the settlement above, the board was conscious that the financial burden placed on the club had to be manageable, so as not to put its future in doubt when considering that after this season the club will no longer benefit from the promotion that was the catalyst for the dispute in the first place."

"The outcome vindicates the approach of the EFL board in defending the challenge to our rules"

Since relegation back to the Championship after just one season in the Premier League, QPR have reduced wage spending year on year, with the latest accounts from 2017 showing that 64% of their turnover was spent on wages.

However, they have made pre-tax losses of more than £17.4m in their first two seasons back in the second tier.

No part of QPR's settlement with the EFL will be taken into account in future calculations relating profitability and sustainability rules.

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This is a massive event for EFL clubs and one that I hope will resonate with others tempted to go down the same road (are you watching, JB's?)

Seems from the figures given, that the amount to be paid is similar to the original overspend, which means almost a double whammy for them!

Puts our own issues in recent seasons in some kind of perspective and credit to the club for their prudence!

Puts our own issues in recent seasons in some kind of perspective and credit to the club for their prudence!

Yeah, yeah, but where's our marquee signing.

Seems very harsh but a lesson for our new found supporters to remember when calling for new signings with PL experience

Puts our own issues in recent seasons in some kind of perspective and credit to the club for their prudence!

Yeah, yeah, but where's our marquee signing.

The Redknapp effect

The Redknapp effect

i think you can blame a manager for buying shit....or paying too much for a certain player..
but not for a clubs total overspend.
as for FFP i find it bizarre that the punishment for breaking a rule designed to stop clubs from being finacially reckless is a 42 million pound fine.

The Redknapp effect

i think you can blame a manager for buying shit....or paying too much for a certain player..
but not for a clubs total overspend.
as for FFP i find it bizarre that the punishment for breaking a rule designed to stop clubs from being finacially reckless is a 42 million pound fine.

Ultimately the owner has to take responsibility however he has left a few clubs in some states. Still impressive for a man who cant write, text and doesn't know what an email is

My immediate question is where is this £42m going to go to.

The Redknapp effect

i think you can blame a manager for buying shit....or paying too much for a certain player..
but not for a clubs total overspend.
as for FFP i find it bizarre that the punishment for breaking a rule designed to stop clubs from being finacially reckless is a 42 million pound fine.

Ultimately the owner has to take responsibility however he has left a few clubs in some states. Still impressive for a man who cant write, text and doesn't know what an email is

which is sorta my point...i dont think its a secret that he isnt the brightest, spotting talent and knowing what the missing piece is are one thing..doing the club accounts something totally different.

My immediate question is where is this £42m going to go to.

fair point..
personally i think FFP is anything but fair it just ensures the top clubs remain the top clubs

Loads of clubs spending big.surely quite a few heading for a big fall?.now wrongly or rightly they have made an example of qpr more to follow?.

My immediate question is where is this £42m going to go to.

Good point, in my head surely it should be split amongst the other clubs in the championship that season who had an unfair advantage that season......doubt it tho.

Loads of clubs spending big.surely quite a few heading for a big fall?.now wrongly or rightly they have made an example of qpr more to follow?.

its a dangerous precedent.
club breaks FFP rules
club changes hands
4 years later club now owned by local business men or a trust gets fined 42mill.
no more club.?

Loads of clubs spending big.surely quite a few heading for a big fall?.now wrongly or rightly they have made an example of qpr more to follow?.

its a dangerous precedent.
club breaks FFP rules
club changes hands
4 years later club now owned by local business men or a trust gets fined 42mill.
no more club.?

I think we got very lucky with Tan as an owner. A lot of recent asian owners seem to come in spend a fortune get bored and bugger off or lose interest.

Loads of clubs spending big.surely quite a few heading for a big fall?.now wrongly or rightly they have made an example of qpr more to follow?.

its a dangerous precedent.
club breaks FFP rules
club changes hands
4 years later club now owned by local business men or a trust gets fined 42mill.
no more club.?

Good point this as been going on for several years and will definitely effect any proposed takeover at a club with substantial fine hanging over club!

There must be a few clubs that are sailing close to the wind on this.

Villa are clearly in trouble but Derby have also spent heavily over a long period of time as well as gone through managers which costs in compensation. Maybe that's why they're selling Vydra and buying a cheaper Waghorne in his place ?

Stoke may also find themselves in trouble if they don't go straight back up and unless the Jacks can get rid of more of their top earners (Bony, Mawson, Routledge, etc.) they will also struggle with FFP.

This is a massive event for EFL clubs and one that I hope will resonate with others tempted to go down the same road (are you watching, JB's?)

Seems from the figures given, that the amount to be paid is similar to the original overspend, which means almost a double whammy for them!

Puts our own issues in recent seasons in some kind of perspective and credit to the club for their prudence!

Actually Sven , they have got off very lightly. See my post on a similar thread on Mike Morris` board (sorry , I am hopeless at doing "cut and paste" stuff between message boards or would do it myself).

Have the "fine" (which was anyway well below the fine level that was calculated is not a fine at all but a debt to equity conversion , and the rest can be paid off over 10 years. As I have commented elsewhere , not much of a deterrent at all for other clubs seeking to make a similar breach of the rules in future as a "slapped wrist" precedent has now been set by the EFL

Keith

This is a massive event for EFL clubs and one that I hope will resonate with others tempted to go down the same road (are you watching, JB's?)

Seems from the figures given, that the amount to be paid is similar to the original overspend, which means almost a double whammy for them!

Puts our own issues in recent seasons in some kind of perspective and credit to the club for their prudence!

Actually Sven , they have got off very lightly. See my post on a similar thread on Mike Morris` board (sorry , I am hopeless at doing "cut and paste" stuff between message boards or would do it myself).

Have the "fine" (which was anyway well below the fine level that was calculated is not a fine at all but a debt to equity conversion , and the rest can be paid off over 10 years. As I have commented elsewhere , not much of a deterrent at all for other clubs seeking to make a similar breach of the rules in future as a "slapped wrist" precedent has now been set by the EFL

Keith

it really depends on the finances of a club at the time of the fine and who is running the club at that point whether even a 17million pound fine is just a slap on the wrist..
its only during the Vincent Tan years that this club could regard a 17mill fine a slap on the wrist, no matter how many years you spread it..?

This is a massive event for EFL clubs and one that I hope will resonate with others tempted to go down the same road (are you watching, JB's?)

Seems from the figures given, that the amount to be paid is similar to the original overspend, which means almost a double whammy for them!

Puts our own issues in recent seasons in some kind of perspective and credit to the club for their prudence!

Actually Sven , they have got off very lightly. See my post on a similar thread on Mike Morris` board (sorry , I am hopeless at doing "cut and paste" stuff between message boards or would do it myself).

Have the "fine" (which was anyway well below the fine level that was calculated is not a fine at all but a debt to equity conversion , and the rest can be paid off over 10 years. As I have commented elsewhere , not much of a deterrent at all for other clubs seeking to make a similar breach of the rules in future as a "slapped wrist" precedent has now been set by the EFL

Keith

I don't know if I read the report properly but £22m seems to be a right off of club debt meaning only the fine £17 and court costs £3m have to be repaid over 10 years. By my maths that's £2m per season. True it's a chuck of money which could be spent else where but not exactly the pounding the headline was suggesting.

Funny how Man City get away with over inflating their sponsorship deals with their arab masters.

Loads of clubs spending big.surely quite a few heading for a big fall?.now wrongly or rightly they have made an example of qpr more to follow?.

its a dangerous precedent.
club breaks FFP rules
club changes hands
4 years later club now owned by local business men or a trust gets fined 42mill.
no more club.?

and that in a nutshell is why FFP was brought in-to stop owners spending money they haven't got and then walking away.I seem to remember the QPR fans that used to come on here when they were doing well were quite blase about it all.I can't see them mounting any sort of challenge for a while now.

Loads of clubs spending big.surely quite a few heading for a big fall?.now wrongly or rightly they have made an example of qpr more to follow?.

its a dangerous precedent.
club breaks FFP rules
club changes hands
4 years later club now owned by local business men or a trust gets fined 42mill.
no more club.?

and that in a nutshell is why FFP was brought in-to stop owners spending money they haven't got and then walking away.I seem to remember the QPR fans that used to come on here when they were doing well were quite blase about it all.I can't see them mounting any sort of challenge for a while now.

and yes if Tan decided to push the boat out we too might become blase....but in 4 years time maybe having passed the reigns on to less wealthy owners its they have to deal with the fall out....it doesnt stop owners the Villa situ proves that..all it does is ring fence the top clubs.

Funny how Man City get away with over inflating their sponsorship deals with their arab masters.

They did it before ffp regulated things so ffp was changed because of man c and what they did in regards to sponsorship of stadium ECT ect, before then rules were not as stringent and clubs can't get away with such things now

This is a massive event for EFL clubs and one that I hope will resonate with others tempted to go down the same road (are you watching, JB's?)

Seems from the figures given, that the amount to be paid is similar to the original overspend, which means almost a double whammy for them!

Puts our own issues in recent seasons in some kind of perspective and credit to the club for their prudence!

Actually Sven , they have got off very lightly. See my post on a similar thread on Mike Morris` board (sorry , I am hopeless at doing "cut and paste" stuff between message boards or would do it myself).

Have the "fine" (which was anyway well below the fine level that was calculated is not a fine at all but a debt to equity conversion , and the rest can be paid off over 10 years. As I have commented elsewhere , not much of a deterrent at all for other clubs seeking to make a similar breach of the rules in future as a "slapped wrist" precedent has now been set by the EFL

Keith

Keith, yes I have to agree and back off my initial thoughts. Having heard the opinions of some footballing people (including the excellent IMHO Simon Jordan on TalkSport) it seems PR have indeed 'got off lightly' and the EFL have set a precedent that will almost certainly come back and bite them on the proverbial

Somewhat oddly, I've never actually read Mike's board

Loads of clubs spending big.surely quite a few heading for a big fall?.now wrongly or rightly they have made an example of qpr more to follow?.

its a dangerous precedent.
club breaks FFP rules
club changes hands
4 years later club now owned by local business men or a trust gets fined 42mill.
no more club.?

and that in a nutshell is why FFP was brought in-to stop owners spending money they haven't got and then walking away.I seem to remember the QPR fans that used to come on here when they were doing well were quite blase about it all.I can't see them mounting any sort of challenge for a while now.

For me if an owner wants to come and spend money they it shoud be allowed without any restrictions.

Saying that I do believe there should be safeguards in place that the club will be able to continue if the owner become irresponsible. I'm not convinced FFP is that safeguard and especially more so with this mere fine QPR has received.

For me owners should take resposibility for any debt it has created. When the club outgoing are more than its ingoing then the excess should be enforced on the owner and not the club. A baseline should be set for each club with the owner taking resposibility for any excess over the baseline. If the excess become unstainable then a Trust should step in and operate to the baseline with the authroities (tax man etc) chasing the owner.

This is a massive event for EFL clubs and one that I hope will resonate with others tempted to go down the same road (are you watching, JB's?)

Seems from the figures given, that the amount to be paid is similar to the original overspend, which means almost a double whammy for them!

Puts our own issues in recent seasons in some kind of perspective and credit to the club for their prudence!

Actually Sven , they have got off very lightly. See my post on a similar thread on Mike Morris` board (sorry , I am hopeless at doing "cut and paste" stuff between message boards or would do it myself).

Have the "fine" (which was anyway well below the fine level that was calculated is not a fine at all but a debt to equity conversion , and the rest can be paid off over 10 years. As I have commented elsewhere , not much of a deterrent at all for other clubs seeking to make a similar breach of the rules in future as a "slapped wrist" precedent has now been set by the EFL

Keith

the excellent IMHO Simon Jordan on TalkSport)

He's class mate ain't he, really enjoy listening to him on there, I know he won't be everyone's cup of tea but he's better than most of them on there.

This is a massive event for EFL clubs and one that I hope will resonate with others tempted to go down the same road (are you watching, JB's?)

Seems from the figures given, that the amount to be paid is similar to the original overspend, which means almost a double whammy for them!

Puts our own issues in recent seasons in some kind of perspective and credit to the club for their prudence!

Actually Sven , they have got off very lightly. See my post on a similar thread on Mike Morris` board (sorry , I am hopeless at doing "cut and paste" stuff between message boards or would do it myself).

Have the "fine" (which was anyway well below the fine level that was calculated is not a fine at all but a debt to equity conversion , and the rest can be paid off over 10 years. As I have commented elsewhere , not much of a deterrent at all for other clubs seeking to make a similar breach of the rules in future as a "slapped wrist" precedent has now been set by the EFL

Keith

Just read your post on there now, have to say I have changed my mind upon reading as my initial thoughts were that it seems a bit excessive, thanks for sharing

O/T I know its nothing to do with you bit I very rarely go on MM board these days cos its advert central so keep posting on here mate, it's good to read your thoughts on these types of subjects.

This is a massive event for EFL clubs and one that I hope will resonate with others tempted to go down the same road (are you watching, JB's?)

Seems from the figures given, that the amount to be paid is similar to the original overspend, which means almost a double whammy for them!

Puts our own issues in recent seasons in some kind of perspective and credit to the club for their prudence!

Definitely.

And to think Fernandes and QPR were used as something Tan should try and be.

The Redknapp effect

i think you can blame a manager for buying shit....or paying too much for a certain player..
but not for a clubs total overspend.
as for FFP i find it bizarre that the punishment for breaking a rule designed to stop clubs from being finacially reckless is a 42 million pound fine.

Ultimately the owner has to take responsibility however he has left a few clubs in some states. Still impressive for a man who cant write, text and doesn't know what an email is

Have a look at this lads.

Mental some of the money and wages they spent in that period

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... fared.html