Football
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Paris Saint-Germain supporters bring case against UEFA over FFP - report

A group of Paris Saint-Germain supporters have taken UEFA to court claiming financial fair play should be scrapped, according to Le Parisien.

Along with Manchester City, PSG were one of the clubs hit hardest when UEFA handed down its first slate of FFP punishments last summer. The French champions were fined €60 million, had their transfer activity limited to a maximum spend of €55 million, while their Champions League squad was reduced by four players to 21.

Some 100 PSG fans and the Association of Angry Fans against Financial Fair Play have brought a case against UEFA before Paris' High Court, arguing that certain FFP rules prevent investment and go against free competition, thereby maintaining the established elite.

"As an expert in competition law, I have always been concerned by this rule that prevents the emergence of new clubs," Francois Brunet -- a lawyer with Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton LLP, who helped build the case -- told Le Parisien.

"It's not only the future of PSG that concerns me. It's the future of the whole of French and European football. We can't let the Champions League become a sort of private club in which only four or five clubs can reach the semifinals."

The sanctions imposed on PSG were due in large part to UEFA's ruling that a €200 million contract signed with the Qatar Tourism Authority had been over-valued.

They only included half of the sum in their calculations, leaving PSG outside FFP boundaries. Consequently, the club have had to seek other sources of revenue, with fans among those to be hit. 

After a near 100 percent increase in ticket prices since Qatar Sports Investments took over PSG in 2011, the club have already announced a five percent hike for next season.

"The restrictive measures of FFP have had a direct impact on supporters' wallets," the group's case states. "Following UEFA's punishments, PSG have had no choice other than to increase its sole source of revenue over which it still had control: tickets."

While their fans plan to take on UEFA, which is poised to announce the sanctions imposed on the clubs that have fallen foul of FFP this season, PSG reportedly want no part in the fight.

"Yes, but they refused to help us," Brunet said when asked whether the club had been contacted. "We would have preferred the club to be behind us, but I understand their attitude because UEFA provokes fear, except in us and in our supporters, who are behind us."

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