It’s not the first time in recent years, but AC Milan are looking to once again wipe the slate clean and start afresh. The end of the Silvio Berlusconi era was turbulent to say the least, with failed takeovers, delays and controversy dominating the end of a period of ownership that had previously delivered a plethora of trophies to San Siro. The introduction of Li Yonghong was supposed to restore the Rossoneri to those former glories, yet the Chinese owner turned out to be little more than a sham. His smoke-and-mirrors operation took one of Italy’s giants backwards rather than in the upward trajectory of which supporters had dreamed, his tenure ending when the club was effectively repossessed by US hedge fund Elliott. After a year of stabilisation, the current owners have understood that there is now a price to pay for the sustained period of instability that preceded them. Financial Fair Play sanctions for the years 2014-2019 are looming large in the background, and for this reason CEO Ivan Gazidis is keen to manage supporters’ expectations. “Elliott’s vision is clear: to take away the financial burden from Milan and put them back in the right direction, letting them grow and making them a modern club,” the CEO told La Gazzetta dello Sport recently. “Anyone looking for a magician who snaps his fingers, opens taps full of money and resolves everything won’t find it here. There have already been enough illusions and lies. The story of unfulfilled beautiful promises is over.” For this very reason, former Arsenal man Gazidis has made wholesale changes from the pitch upwards, replacing Coach Gennaro Gattuso with Marco Giampaolo, promoting Paolo Maldini to technical director and welcoming Ricky Massara as sporting director. Former Rossoneri midfielder Zvonimir Boban completes the new-look team as Chief Football Officer, but this group must be aware that they face a huge task ahead of them. At this moment in time, UEFA have suspended FFP proceedings until after August 14, however this is merely no more than a stay of execution, as beneath that decision lies a web of complexity over the club’s previous financial dealings. The suspension relates to the reporting period for the 2018/19 season as well as years 2016, 2017 and 2018. The wait for a verdict is due to an ongoing appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport over the sanction imposed for the years 2015, 2016 and 2017 with which UEFA made the following ruling. “Should the club not be break-even compliant at 30 June 2021, it will be excluded from participating in the next UEFA club competition for which it would otherwise qualify, in the two seasons 2022/23 and 2023/24,” writes a UEFA statement. “The club will also have EUR 12 million of its UEFA revenues from the 2018/19 UEFA Europa League withheld and will not be permitted to register more than 21 players for participation in UEFA competitions in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons.” It’s clear that this is a nightmare scenario for Milan. In order to make some inroads into the sanctions that will undoubtedly arrive, the Rossoneri have made an offer to forfeit their place in this season’s Europa League. This represents a sensible decision from Gazidis and his team, however—just like last season—delays in making a judgement on this is hugely unfair on the side that would take their place. When UEFA banned the San Siro outfit from the Europa League last season, it was understood that Fiorentina, who had finished one place below them in the table, would take their place. Milan lodged an appeal with CAS on July 4th, who took until July 20th to eventually overturn that judgement, re-admitting the side into Europe. The problem is that the qualifying rounds for the Europa League commence as early as the end of July, and the Viola had to make their pre-season preparations without knowing whether or not they would be entered into the competition. Such uncertainty causes massive disruption to a team through no fault of their own, and unfortunately the same is happening to Torino this term. Walter Mazzarri’s men are now the ones unsure if they will be taking part in the Europa League. Italian sports newspaper La Repubblica insists that the decision could now take until July 5th, as a voluntary withdrawal would set a precedent in terms of FFP and therefore UEFA need to ensure the process is absolutely correct. If Milan’s offer is accepted, AS Roma would be moved up to go straight in at the group stage, but Torino would have to compete in the qualifying rounds which start of July 11. Again, this penalises a team who are attempting to formulate their own plan for the season, which simply isn’t right. It’s surely enough that such financial mismanagement affects Milan’s own supporters, without also doing so to teams that finished below them in the league. Between UEFA and CAS, something needs to change in order that innocent bystanders do not get caught in the debris from the mistakes of others. AC Milan are looking to wipe the slate clean, but their fresh start should not be allowed to affect others.
Torino FC could be forced to compete in the Europa League qualifying rounds if AC Milan's offer to forfeit its place ahead of UEFA sanctions for financial fair play violations is accepted.