QPR finally about to receive their fate !

[Riversider]

Strong rumours tonight that QPR will be hit with a £17 million fine + £3 million costs + a January 2019 transfer embargo,
Announcement due Friday apparently.
Justice just about served if true.

[The Rock]

Wow, a bit short of 58m, but after 6-7 years better late then never. FA really starting to come together this century.

[RoyTund]

That is way more than I expected. To fight this for 4 years and still get that.

[Andy S]

Sadly it wasn't the fans that spent it but it is the fans that suffer. It should be the owner who is fined

[rogerpbackinMidEastUS]

I've got nothing against QPR, but that "minimal fine" is enough to give clubs like
Villa and Wolves an incentive to do what they did last season.

The potential penalty is greater than the eventual punisment.

That having been said, thank goodness for the Khan's

[love4ffc]

Sadly it wasn't the fans that spent it but it is the fans that suffer. It should be the owner who is fined

I couldn't agree more.  The owner should pay but it will be the club who pays and passes it on to the fans  :031:

[MJG]

I've got nothing against QPR, but that "minimal fine" is enough to give clubs like
Villa and Wolves an incentive to do what they did last season.

The potential penalty is greater than the eventual punisment.

That having been said, thank goodness for the Khan's

The rules under which QPR were charged (And played under that season) have changed and a points reduction is also a possible now.

[MJG]

I've got nothing against QPR, but that "minimal fine" is enough to give clubs like
Villa and Wolves an incentive to do what they did last season.

The potential penalty is greater than the eventual punisment.

That having been said, thank goodness for the Khan's

The rules under which QPR were charged (And played under that season) have changed and a points reduction is also a possible now.

Are you sure about that? When were they changed?

I don't know, but if I remember rightly when I looked at the rulebook, the provisions on sanctions, arbitration etc applied generally to any breach of the rules, and weren't specific to FFP. That implies that the EFL didn't have the power to deduct points anywhere in the suite of enforcement tools, which would seem odd.

Also I seem to remember the season they were coming back down, there was talk of QPR not being allowed back into the EFL at all, and it would be odd if the EFL could do that, but couldn't dock points.

I dont have time to dig out the league rule book but here is a quick note of it showing rules have changed

http://www.financialfairplay.co.uk/financial-fair-play-explained.php

Any punishment for breach of the rules will be determined by an independent panel (the 'Fair Play Panel').

But what are the potential punishments? Previously the Football League has only been able to either; fine promoted clubs (a fine the Premier League didn't help them collect), or impose a transfer embargo for historic overspending (which always like a stable-door/horse scenario). With this change, a wide range of punishments are now available. Nothing is off the table; the Football League are now able to impose a points deduction during the current season, or demote a club from an automatic promotion position into the play-offs (or out of the play-offs altogether). Transfer embargoes are also available (with the earliest one potentially applying during the Summer 2017 Transfer window.

Moving from an assessment over one season to an assessment over three seasons has presented some challenges. Interestingly, rather than introduce the changes on a staggered basis, the Football League has introduced the change in one go. The contentious issue here is that for some clubs, a historic 'rogue' season which the club had put behind them, suddenly becomes part of the assessment criteria. Where this has happened and where a transfer ban has previously been imposed and subsequently lifted (eg Fulham, Forest, Cardiff), it seems unlikely that the Football League would apply a further punishment if the projections for the current season show the club is currently operating within the £13m maximum loss figure.

[MJG]

Statto, on this point....."Also I seem to remember the season they were coming back down, there was talk of QPR not being allowed back into the EFL at all, and it would be odd if the EFL could do that, but couldn't dock points."

Its a membership of situation in the lge. I dont belive its ever been used but they could refuse to accept them. At the time they couldnt dock points.

[Jem]

Sadly it wasn't the fans that spent it but it is the fans that suffer. It should be the owner who is fined

Have to agree.

[General]

Just between £900-£1,000 per one of their 18,000 seater stadium, not ideal but over the course of a season I'd imagine they'd make that back.

[Camel Club]

Always the fans that suffer. Everybody else just moves along after a while. Still it gives McLaren a get out of jail free card when his team underperform.

[BedsFFC]

We got relegated and cut nearly every player almost immediately trying to stay within the rules but still got a transfer ban in the jan window without any warning or ability to react.

They get a fine that does not come out of operating funds and can be paid over 10 years and pre-warned, enabling them to react in this window for an offence that was a blatant disregard of the rules and took place 5 years ago

It's not just as it's them. It's no deterrent

[MikeTheCubed]

No punishment for the fact that they not only broke the rules, but deliberately flaunted them?

[toshes mate]

Sadly it wasn't the fans that spent it but it is the fans that suffer. It should be the owner who is fined

The sentiment appears apposite but I suspect many fans either enjoy the 'improvements' or endure the 'detriments' just as they do so when rules are obeyed rather than ignored.  It is the fans and their representatives who have challenged an owner's modus operandi  that I feel most sorry for.

The object of penalties and remedies is to stop the stewards of a club from thinking about them as ways to deliver success and any remedy from points deductions to massive fines will effectively test football clubs and their owners to the limit.  Personally I'd love to see automatic relegation used alongside heavy fines if the remedies do not improve owners' behaviours.

[filham]

Why oh why does it take so long to reach a decision , I really thought it had all been swept under the carpet and forgotten.

[MJG]

But what are the potential punishments? Previously the Football League has only been able to either; fine promoted clubs (a fine the Premier League didn't help them collect), or impose a transfer embargo for historic overspending (which always like a stable-door/horse scenario). With this change, a wide range of punishments are now available. Nothing is off the table; the Football League are now able to impose a points deduction during the current season, or demote a club from an automatic promotion position into the play-offs (or out of the play-offs altogether). Transfer embargoes are also available (with the earliest one potentially applying during the Summer 2017 Transfer window.

Well I've no idea where he's got that from because I've just looked at the rules again, albeit quickly, and in the Appendix on FFP it specifically mentions embargoes and fines but still nothing about points deductions. But then in the general provisions on disciplinary proceedings it says the league can do basically anything (order a party to do or refrain from doing anything... order a deduction of points... order any other sanction as the Disciplinary Commission may think fit) but that's for any breach, not just FFP and I cannot believe those provisions weren't always there. The only explanation I can think is perhaps FFP regs were previously standalone regs and not caught by the general disciplinary provisions. In fairness I only ever skim-read this stuff and can only half remember what I've read here and there over the years so I'm not sure, but it does seem odd to me.

well it came into force from the start of 16/17

What happens if clubs bust their ceiling for losses?

Any punishment for breach of the rules will be determined by an independent panel (the 'Fair Play Panel').

But what are the potential punishments?

Previously the Football League has only been able to either fine promoted clubs (a fine the Premier League didn't help them collect), or impose a transfer embargo for historic overspending (which always like a stable-door/horse scenario).

With this change, a wide range of punishments are now available.

Nothing is off the table; the Football League are now able to impose a points deduction during the current season, or demote a club from an automatic promotion position into the play-offs (or out of the play-offs altogether).

Transfer embargoes are also available (with the earliest one potentially applying during the Summer 2017 Transfer window.

[aaronmcguigan]

How is a January 2019 transfer ban ANY kind of deterrent or punishment?

surely they just fill their squad this month to safeguard for injuries later in the season. They should be banned from now to make it an actual punishment.

[Lighthouse]

Fined 42 million and an embargo in January.  It is what it is. Not sure how much it will bother the people who run the club. But no doubt it was worth the gamble.

[ffcjohnnyf]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44980113 All confirmed.