Report: Liverpool at risk of FFP sanctions

The Reds would usually expect the payment to be made next month, but that is now in jeopardy after the club posted losses of £49.8m for the 2012-13 financial year, after a loss of £41m for a 10-month period through to May 2012.

Under FFP rules, clubs are not allowed to post a loss of more than £35.4m over a three year period.

Clubs that did not qualify for the Champions League or the Europa League last season (Liverpool finished seventh in 2012-13) were not required to submit financial details for 2011-12 and 2012-13 to UEFA's monitoring body, but having qualified for the Champions League last season, they are now subject to FFP regulations.

The Times report, written by the newspaper's European football correspondent Gabriele Marcotti, quotes Andrea Traverso, head of Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play at UEFA as saying: "As soon as a club qualifies (for a UEFA competition), it enters the scope of Financial Fair Play,"

"So they have to immediately submit all the information to UEFA."

Earlier this year, Manchester City and PSG were fined €60 million (£48.9 million) for breaching UEFA’s financial fair play rules, while having their squad size for this season’s Champions League capped at 21 players.

Turkish club Galatasaray plus Russian sides Zenit St Petersburg and Anzhi Makhachkala were amongst those who suffered lesser punishments.

The likes of Roma, Monaco and Inter Milan could also fall into similar difficulties as Liverpool, as they did not qualify for Europe last season, so are having their accounts analysed for the first time.

While UEFA only allows a €45m loss over three seasons, the rules in the Premier League give a lot more leeway, with a loss of £105m permitted over a three season period.

This may not be as bad as it seems. Liverpool may well have their payment held back while an investigation is pending, but their case at any inquiry could be strong. UEFA makes special allowances for "virtuous" expenditure, including investments in the club such as infrastructure and youth development, meaning Liverpool could claim that their total loss over the two seasons in question is a lot less than the above figures and potentially below UEFA's threshold of £35.4m. Another point worth mentioning: last season, 76 clubs were “at risk” of breaching the regulations, yet only nine were sanctioned in the end. Liverpool should take heart from that.