The case involves a legal dispute between Paris Saint-Germain Football SASP (PSG) and the Union des Associations Européennes de Football (UEFA) before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The dispute centered on UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations and investigations into PSG’s compliance with these rules. The CAS panel, composed of arbitrators from the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Italy, reviewed the joint position of the parties to ensure it was made in good faith and without violating public policy or mandatory laws. The panel emphasized caution when ratifying agreements involving disciplinary elements, as third-party interests might be affected.
The case originated from two investigations by UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB). The first, initiated in 2014, examined PSG’s compliance with FFP break-even requirements, leading to a 2015 settlement agreement where PSG committed to financial targets. By 2017, PSG was deemed compliant and released from the settlement. The second investigation, opened in 2017, scrutinized PSG’s signings of Neymar and Kylian Mbappé. In June 2018, the CFCB’s Chief Investigator closed the investigation, finding no immediate breach of FFP rules but reserving the right to revisit the matter if future audits revealed discrepancies.
A key issue was the interpretation of Article 16(1) of the CFCB Procedural Rules, which allows the CFCB’s adjudicatory chamber to review the Chief Investigator’s decision within ten days of its communication to the CFCB Chairman. The panel clarified that the ten-day limit applies to the adjudicatory chamber’s decision-making window, not the initiation of review. Article 16(3) stipulates that reviews are limited to identifying "manifest errors of assessment," which must be obvious and easily identifiable.
PSG argued that the Adjudicatory Chamber’s review exceeded the ten-day deadline, rendering the Chief Investigator’s decision final. UEFA acknowledged the delay but cited the complexity of the case. The CAS panel upheld the Chief Investigator’s decision, finding no manifest error and ruling the Adjudicatory Chamber’s review untimely. The panel confirmed its jurisdiction under UEFA’s statutes, which designate CAS as the exclusive appeals body for UEFA decisions. The ruling reinforced the importance of procedural fairness and strict compliance with deadlines in disciplinary matters.
On March 19, 2019, the CAS panel ruled in PSG’s favor, setting aside the Adjudicatory Chamber’s decision and affirming the Chief Investigator’s June 2018 decision as final. The case underscores the balance between contractual agreements and regulatory oversight in football governance, highlighting the necessity of adhering to procedural timelines in financial regulatory matters.