Barcelona has been ordered to pay a fine of 500,000 euros (approximately $542,000) after suffering another setback in its legal attempts to overturn a UEFA ruling. The governing body of European soccer accused the famed Spanish club of willfully and deliberately misreporting its income to meet financial regulations.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) located in Lausanne announced on Friday that it had rejected Barcelona’s appeal and indicated that the imposed penalty of 500,000 euros was “actually rather mild.”
The controversy originates from Barcelona’s financial reporting regarding a significant deal in which the club sold a portion of its broadcast rights for the next 25 years. UEFA criticized the club’s financial disclosures, claiming they were “manifestly inaccurate and non-compliant” with regulations designed to promote fiscal responsibility among European soccer teams.
In 2022, Barcelona secured a remarkable 667.5 million euros (about $724 million) through the sale of 25% of its broadcasting revenue from the Spanish league for an extensive period of 25 years.
However, UEFA contended that the club had intentionally misrepresented one of these deals in its financial statements, leading to an overstatement of its break-even results by 267 million euros (around $290 million). The organization denounced Barcelona for offering false information and emphasized that the club’s actions warranted a strong condemnation.
UEFA has established regulations that aim to maintain the financial health of soccer clubs across Europe, stipulating that clubs can only incur limited losses over a span of three years. The sale of “non-tangible assets,” such as future broadcast revenues, is not permitted in break-even calculations. Barcelona had previously faced a 500,000-euro fine for inaccurately reporting profits that did not align with these guidelines.
After facing defeat in its initial appeal at UEFA, Barcelona escalated the matter to CAS, where they claimed the fine was excessive. Nevertheless, CAS upheld the sanction, stating that a reduced penalty would not sufficiently deter prominent clubs like FC Barcelona from engaging in intentional misrepresentation of their financial results.
Barcelona has encountered considerable financial struggles in recent years, most notably resulting in the departure of the club’s legendary player, Lionel Messi, who was unable to continue with the team in 2021 due to these financial constraints.