Newcastle, Chelsea and Aston Villa fined for breaching European financial rules

Newcastle have been fined €6m (£5.2m) by Uefa for breaching its financial sustainability regulations, while Aston Villa and Chelsea have also been given fines for overspending for the second successive year. Following detailed submissions to Uefa’s club financial control body (CFCB), Newcastle were found to have breached the football earnings rule (FER) and squad cost rules (SCR), with both offences leading to fines of €3m each, plus a suspended fine of €7m. Newcastle have not qualified for European competition next season after finishing 10th in the Premier League, but they reached the Champions League quarter-finals in the period over which they were assessed last season, and therefore must comply with Uefa regulations. The club have never breached the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules, which will be replaced by a version of SCR next season. Uefa’s regulations are stricter. Uefa’s SCR threshold for spending on players is 70% of revenue, compared with 85% in the Premier League, while the FER does not permit asset sales to raise revenue. Newcastle’s player spending is believed to have been about 75% of revenue last season, while the sale of St James’ Park to the subsidiary company PZ Newco Holdings Ltd was not approved by Uefa for accounting purposes. “Newcastle United has entered into a settlement agreement with Uefa following a breach of its financial sustainability regulations in the three-year period ending June 2025,” the club said in a statement. …