Finance guru: Sunderland ‘strong-armed’ by EFL as official statement issued
The EFL will use the new Club Financial Reporting United to “strong-arm” the likes of Sunderland into abiding by the letter of the law when it comes to spending checks.
That is the view of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the latest news with regard to the regulatory body.
EFL clubs voted unanimously in favour of the creation of the CFRU earlier this year and announced the makeup of the panel last Monday (12 December).
The committee will act as the arbiter of whether clubs’ accounting practises are in line with the EFL’s Financial Fair Play system.
Sunderland will be well aware that the CFRU will not be a toothless tiger and that they will need to be extra diligent in their adherence to the fine print of the FFP rules, claims Plumley
“I think the approach they are taking indicates that they think it needs to be strongarmed,” the Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“It’s the right thing to do and the majority of clubs have agreed to it. That is interesting because if the clubs are driving it, that tells where your thoughts are.
“It’s independent, so you would anticipate they would have a direct line to the EFL and will be able to suggest sanctions objectively, which is always how it should be.
“The final decision will be the EFL’s but it’s a way of independently checking. It’s also a way to speed up the process a bit.
“Previous cases have dragged. Clubs dig their heels in and the EFL haven’t had the manpower to resource that.
“This does two things. A) it gives clubs a shot in the arm to say that the EFL things are looking at things in more detail and B) it will speed up the process.“
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