FFP

[Rigadon]

It does, but I’m at the point of not caring about that.  Just continuing to try (and fail) against the odds seems absurd to me now. 

[Dave]

It does, but I’m at the point of not caring about that.  Just continuing to try (and fail) against the odds seems absurd to me now. 

Which is fine, but I'm guessing the owners do care about that. So they're unlikely to take the advice being offered.

[Percy McCarthy]

We need more of this.

Seconded.

[ChicagoLion]

We need more of this.

Seconded.

Yes.
At last.

[Hookeysmith]

Matthew Syed calling it out as it is in The Times..

Now do a piece on Man Shitty and their cheating - they have done the opposite to Chelsea and "owned up" so their punishment should be way more

I agree with the option of Nas and Wes do what you want and fight it in court but they will not as they do not want their own integrity ruined whereas the likes of Abramovich and Oil states don't have a shred of it

[dave.woodhall]

The Sunday trading laws had existed for decades and were a total anachronism. They didn't get repealed because they were ridiculous, but because the supermarket chains and big stores opened in defiance of the law, knowing that any fine would be outweighed by their extra profits.

[Monty]

Fine article, and it is nice to see someone saying 'also, fuck the fans who celebrate this shit' without shame.

[DB]

The Sunday trading laws had existed for decades and were a total anachronism. They didn't get repealed because they were ridiculous, but because the supermarket chains and big stores opened in defiance of the law, knowing that any fine would be outweighed by their extra profits.

Therefore, we need other PL clubs to take that approach, isn’t it 66% for something to pass I.e. 12 teams?

[Nev]

You could see it in the eyes of the Chelsea fans, in the same way you now see it with the 115 supporters. They are enjoying the success but deep down they know it's been achieved unfairly, that one day a reckoning will come. The punishment may not suit the crime but we all know now. They cheated.

[Stu82]

At last, someone in the media calls it for what it is, cheating on a massive scale.

Football fans should unite to force prem league into real punishment for these cheats.

[Smithy]

Spot on, my advice to Nas and Wes moving forwards is "F*ck the rules" and simply pay for endless legal challenges whilst they invest seriously in their own asset i.e. AVFC - if we get serious investment in what Unai is doing we will be a permanent fixture of the cabal come the end of the decade.

Doesn't that plan immediately fall apart when UEFA shrug their shoulders and say "fine, we'll give your spot in next seasons Champions League to the team that hasn't deliberately and openly broken the rules"?

Exactly. The problem isn't people breaking the rules TODAY.  It's that the rules were broken in the past, allowing these teams to create an almost unassailable commercial advantage TODAY.  Eden Hazard signed for Chelsea well over a decade ago, but the impact he had on that Chelsea team is enormous - and those league wins, the FA Cup, the league cups, those Europa League titles, were ALL won with players they signed by CHEATING.

Now, does anyone care if Chelsea loses a premier league title from a decade ago, and it gets given to Man City who finished second instead? I don't.  It makes no difference.  I could care less.

The REAL benefit, is that they had YEARS of benefitting from being at the top of the game here and in Europe, thanks to players signed through cheating.  They still enjoy those benefits today.  If those years where these players were in the squad were all trophyless, then they are DEFINITELY a very different commercial animal today.

And that doesn't get corrected with a fine that their owners could find down the back of the sofa.

I personally don't want us saying "sod it, we're cheating too", but I DO want us singing loudly from the rooftops about the unfair advantage these cheats have gained over the years, and that a fit and proper punishment would include points and transfer bans. 

Personally, I'd dock them 10 points (minimum) for every season in which illegal payments were made, and have those point deductions applied in consecutive years rather than concurrently.  If that means they start every season for the next five years on -10 points, then so be it.  If that means they lose all their good players and can't attract anyone decent, all the better.

Same for Man City, I don't want a one-off points deduction and a fine.  I want them to have points deducted over multiple seasons, rendering them uncompetitive for as many seasons as they were found to be cheating.  Cheated for 5 years? Fine, you get points deductions for five years.

The idea that you can cheat for multiple years, then get a wrist slap and an inconsequential fine, is going to harm the reputation of this sport irrevocably.

[garyellis]

Given they also cheated their way to European trophies what is UEFA’s view on appropriate sanctions?

[garyellis]

Spot on, my advice to Nas and Wes moving forwards is "F*ck the rules" and simply pay for endless legal challenges whilst they invest seriously in their own asset i.e. AVFC - if we get serious investment in what Unai is doing we will be a permanent fixture of the cabal come the end of the decade.

Doesn't that plan immediately fall apart when UEFA shrug their shoulders and say "fine, we'll give your spot in next seasons Champions League to the team that hasn't deliberately and openly broken the rules"?

Exactly. The problem isn't people breaking the rules TODAY.  It's that the rules were broken in the past, allowing these teams to create an almost unassailable commercial advantage TODAY.  Eden Hazard signed for Chelsea well over a decade ago, but the impact he had on that Chelsea team is enormous - and those league wins, the FA Cup, the league cups, those Europa League titles, were ALL won with players they signed by CHEATING.

Now, does anyone care if Chelsea loses a premier league title from a decade ago, and it gets given to Man City who finished second instead? I don't.  It makes no difference.  I could care less.

The REAL benefit, is that they had YEARS of benefitting from being at the top of the game here and in Europe, thanks to players signed through cheating.  They still enjoy those benefits today.  If those years where these players were in the squad were all trophyless, then they are DEFINITELY a very different commercial animal today.

And that doesn't get corrected with a fine that their owners could find down the back of the sofa.

I personally don't want us saying "sod it, we're cheating too", but I DO want us singing loudly from the rooftops about the unfair advantage these cheats have gained over the years, and that a fit and proper punishment would include points and transfer bans. 

Personally, I'd dock them 10 points (minimum) for every season in which illegal payments were made, and have those point deductions applied in consecutive years rather than concurrently.  If that means they start every season for the next five years on -10 points, then so be it.  If that means they lose all their good players and can't attract anyone decent, all the better.

Same for Man City, I don't want a one-off points deduction and a fine.  I want them to have points deducted over multiple seasons, rendering them uncompetitive for as many seasons as they were found to be cheating.  Cheated for 5 years? Fine, you get points deductions for five years.

The idea that you can cheat for multiple years, then get a wrist slap and an inconsequential fine, is going to harm the reputation of this sport irrevocably.

Maybe we could find a tune to go with
Champions of Europe we won it fairly you’ll never sing that

[andyh]

And that’s the worst part about it. The cheating from years ago is still,the foundation of what Chelsea are able to do today. So while we continue to play by the rules, Chelsea are still benefiting from their own cheating and corruption.

[Dante Lavelli]

The thing is, the Premier League are the clubs. I find it incredible that the other 19 clubs think the fine is adequate punishment.

It’s likely more that the other billionaires don’t want any limitations to what they can spend and vote against rules that might deny them that opportunity in the future.

I think it might be the other way around.  The Billionaires like the limitations.  The value of their club continues upwards but they can point at "the rules" when the fans demand they spend more money.