Roma’s Ashley Cole trying to find a way past Sergio Aguero, of Manchester City, during Champions League action.Roma’s Ashley Cole trying to find a way past Sergio Aguero, of Manchester City, during Champions League action.

European clubs will this week demand UEFA close a loophole that allows some clubs to qualify for the Champions League without submitting accounts to comply with financial fair play (FFP) rules.

There is widespread concern among clubs that teams such as Liverpool, Monaco and Roma did not have to submit their accounts to UEFA last season because they were not involved in European competition.

Senior figures in the European Clubs’ Association (ECA) believe that gives the clubs an advantage in terms of qualifying for the lucrative tournament in that they are not subject to the same spending constraints.

Liverpool, Roma and Monaco all qualified for the Champions League and it is only this season that they have had to submit their accounts.

UEFA announced two weeks ago that they are among seven clubs being investigated for possible FFP breaches.

UEFA said the clubs had “disclosed a break-even deficit on the basis of their financial reporting periods ending in 2012 and 2013”.

The issue will be brought up when UEFA holds a meeting with clubs today to discuss any changes to the FFP rules.

One European club executive told PA Sport: “It makes no sense that clubs can qualify for the Champions League without having had to submit their accounts – it can even encourage them to overspend in order to qualify.

“We are meeting UEFA next week and we will push them to close this loophole.”

Manchester City and Paris St Germain were the clubs punished most severely by UEFA last season for FFP rule-breaches – both were fined £49 million – and they are among those invited to the meeting today in Nyon, Switzerland.

The meeting is also expected to look at whether large debts carried by clubs such as Manchester United and Real Madrid should also be tackled more strongly by FFP rules.

Currently, only the interest on those debts is viewed as part of the FFP calculation.

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said in the summer: “We have zero debt.

“We don’t pay a penny to service any debt. For me, that is a sustainable model. However, our friends at UEFA seem to believe otherwise. They have their view... we have ours.”

Gianni Infantino, UEFA’s general secretary, said: “Certainly, the question of debt is something that can be put on the table.”

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