Monday, 15th December, 2014
The Football League has slapped Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers and Nottingham Forest with a transfer ban after finding the trio guilty of failing to meet its financial fair play rules.
The initial ruling means that all three Championship clubs will be prevented from signing players in the forthcoming January transfer window.
The Football League believes that Leeds, Blackburn and Forest have all exceeded the total allowed under the rules in terms of losses.
A statement issued by the Football League reads: "An initial analysis of Financial Fair Play submissions from the current 24 Championship clubs has indicated that three clubs – Blackburn Rovers, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest – have failed to meet the Fair Play Requirement under the division’s Financial Fair Play rules. Consequently, all three will be subject to an ‘FFP embargo’ under Football League regulations from January 1, 2015 for the remainder of the current campaign.
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"The Football League is currently in discussions with a number of other clubs over their FFP submissions and will confirm any further FFP embargoes, if any, in due course. It will also now consider submissions from the three clubs promoted to the Premier League and the three clubs relegated to League 1 at the end of the 2013/14 season.
"Blackburn, Leeds and Forest all exceeded the maximum permitted deviation of £8m – consisting of a maximum adjusted operating loss of £3m plus a further maximum of £5m of shareholder investment – during the 2013/14 playing season. Each club will have the opportunity to have its FFP embargo lifted at the end of the season by demonstrating that it has stayed within the maximum permitted deviation of £6m (£3m operating loss plus £3m shareholder investment) for the 2014/15 season."
The Football League also confirmed that the embargo will not apply to clubs who have fewer than 24 established players: An established player is a player aged 21 or over who has made at least five starts for the club.
If clubs have fewer than 24 established players then they will be permitted to make signings if the costs of a new signing are less than £600,000 per year, or pro-rata to that rate.
Clubs with 24 established players will be permitted to move one player out and one in, but only if the player arriving costs 75 per cent of the equivalent of the player leaving, or costs a maximum of £600,000 per year.
It has also been announced that: "Clubs under an FFP embargo will be permitted to sign a goalkeeper on an emergency basis (in line with existing regulations).
"Clubs under an FFP embargo will not be permitted to pay transfer fees or compensation fees for professional players.
"Clubs under an FFP embargo will not be permitted to pay a loan fee to another club, they may only pay the player’s wage (or a contribution towards it).
"For incoming players, clubs can only pay Agents’ Fees as a benefit in kind to the player in question (as long as they do not exceed the £600,000 employee costs limit)."
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