Kieran Maguire: West Ham ‘anxious’ as Uefa demands financial ‘documents’
West Ham will be “anxious” to get their finances in order following the pandemic and will therefore be happy to provide Uefa with any supporting documentation.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the Hammers’ presence on Uefa’s Financial Fair Play watchlist.
European football’s governing body announced last Friday (2 September) that the Londoners were one of 20 clubs being monitored closely as they came close to violating spending limits in 2021-22.
Eight big-name clubs meanwhile – including Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Juventus – were fined a combined £149million for flouting FFP, although the bulk of the penalty is suspended.
The Irons made a net loss of £26.9million during the Covid-hit 2020-21 campaign.
Clubs competing in European competition are allowed to lose no more than £25m over a rolling three-year period, although a new system is set to be introduced and discrepancies were made during the pandemic.
But Maguire insists that West Ham will not be overly concerned by Uefa’s latest move.
“I think West Ham can be relatively relaxed with regards to being put on Uefa’s watchlist,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“The reason for this is that Uefa are doing little more than asking for extra submissions of documentation and perhaps to be kept up to date on a regular basis.
“They aren’t making any significant threat.
“Clubs coming out of Covid have to get their finances on to an even keel. I’m sure West Ham will be anxious to do this anyway as well as focusing on things on the pitch.”
In other news, ex-Premier League referee claims Stockley Park should be closed and official sacked after West Ham update