Sources: Barça hope to avoid severe UEFA penalty

Barcelona look further punishments for imaginable breaches of UEFA's fiscal just play (FFP) regulations, but nine sources told ESPN they are hopeful immoderate terrible sanctions volition beryllium avoided.

Barça were fined €500,000 successful 2023 for infringing FFP rules and The Times reported Tuesday they could beryllium deed with a much terrible punishment this clip round, specified arsenic a points deduction up of adjacent season's Champions League oregon a reduced bounds connected the fig of players they tin registry for the competition.

The usurpation relates to income registered by Barça connected assets which are not considered applicable nether UEFA regulations.

To easiness fiscal problems successful caller years, Barça person raised wealth by selling disconnected a percent of their income from broadcast rights, a involvement successful the the club's in-house media institution and, astir recently, aboriginal gross from VIP seats astatine Spotify Camp Nou, which is being developed.

These operations -- known arsenic 'levers' -- are accepted by LaLiga but not by UEFA, who volition marque an announcement connected immoderate santion Barça whitethorn person aboriginal this month.

Sources astatine Barça attempted to downplay the severity of the imaginable breaches, telling ESPN they expect, astatine most, a tiny fiscal penalty.

"We precocious completed the fiscal audit process conducted by UEFA each 2 years," a nine root told ESPN. "The conclusions and imaginable consequences arising from this audit person not yet been notified to the club.

"The main discrepancy lies successful the information that UEFA does not see immoderate operations arsenic mean income, the alleged levers, dissimilar the criteria of LaLiga, which does see them arsenic mean operating income."

UEFA told ESPN they could not connection updates connected idiosyncratic cases.

"The UEFA Club Financial Control Body volition reappraisal each applicable cases and further announcements regarding updates and settlements volition beryllium made astir mid-June," the governing assemblage said.

Barça's 2023 good related to "wrongly reporting, successful the fiscal twelvemonth 2022, profits connected disposal of intangible assets [other than subordinate transfers] which are not a applicable income nether the regulations."

The nine took the lawsuit to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but mislaid past October.

CAS said the €500,000 good was "actually comparatively mild" and warned Barça they faced "harsher" sanctions should they infringe the regulations again.

Information from ESPN's Dale Johnson contributed to this report.