Floriana to receive UEFA prize money

Floriana FC received a boost yes-terday after the UEFA Club Financial Control Body’s (CFCB) investigatory chamber approved the payment of prize money from UEFA competitions to the BOV Premier League club.

In summer, Floriana were one of 23 clubs that had their UEFA prize money temporarily with-held as information provided by the clubs to meet the deadline of June 30 revealed the presence of significant overdue payables balances.

Yesterday, UEFA announced that 16 of the 23 clubs had been cleared to receive the funds as all of them had regularised their financial position by September 30, a second deadline.

“Based on new information provided by the clubs to meet the subsequent deadline of 30 September 2012 and following its investigations, the CFCB decided, given that no overdue payables balances remained, to close the cases involving the 16 clubs,” a statement on the UEFA website said.

“As a result, measures affecting the following teams have been lifted with immediate effect:

Zeljeznicar (BIH), Sarajevo (BIH), Borac Banja Luka (BIH), CSKA Sofia (BUL), Atletico Madrid (ESP), Maccabi Netanya (ISR), Shkendija (MKD), Floriana FC (MLT), FK Buducnost (MNE), Rudar Pjevlja (MNE), Ruch Chorzow (POL), Sporting (POR), SC Vaslui (ROU), Rubin Kazan (RUS), Fenerbahce (TUR) and Eskisehirspor (TUR).”

Qatari-owned La Liga outfit Malaga are among the nine clubs left facing UEFA sanctions over unpaid bills.

Malaga, who spent €60m on new players last year and have qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League, failed to show they had cleared overdue payments in time.

The investigatory chamber also decided to refer the cases involving Croatian sides Hajduk Split and Osijek, Romanian clubs Rapid Bucharest and Dinamo Bucharest; Serbian outfits FK Partizan and Vojvodina, Poland’s Lech Poznan and Arsenal Kiev, of Ukraine, to their adjudicatory chamber for the necessary actions to be taken.

“The duration of the judgement phase and the date of the meetings of the adjudicatory chamber are yet to be determined,” UEFA added.

UEFA intend to introduce financial fair play rules to ensure that clubs in continental competition live within their means at the risk of penalties, including being banned from international tournaments.