UNION OF EUROPEAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATIONS:

1)Reviewing and Discussing the Financial Fairplay Policy and European Transfers

2)Implementation of Video Assistant Referee

Contents

1. Letter from the Executive Board2. About the Committee

❖ What is the UEFA❖ How does a UEFA work? ❖ Transfer Market simulation ❖ What does the Committee have in store for you

3. Agenda 1 : Reviewing and discussing the financial fairplay policy and european transfers

A. What is the Club Financial Control Body ( CFCB ) B. What is Financial Fairplay C. ObjectivesD. Measures and sanctionsE. CriticismF. LoopholesG. Case study - Man City, PSGH. Questions to address I. Suggested links

4. Agenda 2 : Implementation of VAR

A.VARB.ProcedureC.Controversial IncidentsD.VAR positivesE. VAR Negatives

LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

Respected delegates, It gives us immense pleasure to be serving on the Executive Board of the ShikMUN’18- UEFA. We, as your EB, shall be working towards making sure that you experience the same high standard of ShikMUN that has preceded us.

The UEFA is a committee where your instinct for the game comes forth. However that does not mean those who are not actively involved in football cannot perform. The committee nurtures your skills as a smart planner, improve your handling of numbers, and teach you how to deal with the controversial media of todays age. Research in this committee would be deemed fairly important, however a large chunk of the committee i.e can be carried forward with less research but more critical thinking and a clear-cut transfer plan.

This background guide aims to provide you with the basic understanding of the committee. As the name suggests, it is a mere background of what is to come in this committee and cannot serve as a credible source in committee or as your sole source of information. Your real research lies beyond this guide, and we hope to see some strong debating and points come forth over the two days of the conference. The agendas could be slightly technical and specific, which is why we have two of them. So we hope that the important aspects of the agenda our duly covered with complete participation from all members.We urge especially the first timers, and everyone else, to come forward to this conference with sheer confidence and motive. In case any doubt arises, do not be afraid to contact your Executive

Board - we will not hesitate to clarify the same.

We truly hope for some exciting debate at this forum. Hope you enjoy what is our interpretation of a UEFA committee meet. We will try our due best to make sure that you take something back from this conference

All the best with your preparations!

Regards,Executive Board ~ UEFARohan Agarwal ( Chairperson ) Priyam Singh Vardhan ( Vice-chairperson )

ABOUT THE COMMITTEE

❖What is the Union of European Football Associations?

The Union Of European Football Associations is the governing body of European Football. It is an association of associations and is the formal organization for 55 national football associations across Europe.UEFA represents the national football associations of Europe, runs nation and club competitions including the UEFA European Championship, UEFA Nations League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Super Cup, and controls the prize money, regulations, and media rights to those competitions.Its objectives are, among other things, to deal with all questions relating to European football, to promote football in a spirit of unity, solidarity, peace, understanding and fair play. To do so without any discrimination in the part of politics, race, religion, gender or any other reason, to safeguard the values of European Football, maintain

relations with all stakeholders involved in European football, and support and safeguard its member associations for the overall well-being of the game in Europe

❖ How does a UEFA work? The Uefa works in accordance to a system of eleven key values - coincidently the number of the players playing in a football team. Each of the eleven values serve as the basis for UEFA’s activities and dialogue, on behalf of European Football, with the political, economic, social and sporting world. The eleven values are:

1. Football First2. Pyramid Structure and Subsidiarity3. Unity and Leadership4. Good Governance and Autonomy5. Grassroots Football and Solidarity6. Youth Protection and Education7. Sporting Integrity and Betting8. Financial Fair Play and Regularity of Competitions9. National Teams and Clubs10. Respect11. European Sports Model and Specificity of Sport

❖ Transfer Market Simulation

This is something unconventional, and something different devised by us as your executive board. Since this UEFA committee is based on our interpretation of how one conference must function, we chose to give it an interesting twist.

The committee will progress normally i.e You will have your regular General Speaker’s list, Moderated and unmoderated Caucus, where in which we will be discussing the agendas at hand. The time period of the Committee will basically function as a transfer window.

The above means that, the delegates are expected, to sell and sign players in this committee. At the beginning of the committee, each delegate will be provided with a transfer budget and some other financial data. Along with the financial information, the delegates will also be provided with some player information from the Club’s

Manager and Assistant Manager. Please Note that this information provided by the Executive Board will not suffice for your transfer business in committee. Each delegate is expected to know about their club i.e list of players, starting line ups, weak areas of the team etc. They are also expected to have some knowledge about the financial status of their club, especially because financial fairplay policy will be discussed in committee.

The transfer process is expected to take place as mentioned ahead. The delegates are expected to conduct transfer activities while the committee is progressing and the agenda is being discussed. They are supposed to do so via chits. Each representative of a club will send chits to the relevant representative of a club and conduct transfer negotiations. All negotiations will take place via chits, or through discussions in Unmoderated Caucuses. To complete signings, the following details need to be decided upon:

1. A transfer amount, complying with that of the club.2. Length of the players contract, along with wages.3. Bonuses, if any.

Feel free to contact the Executive Board regarding this feature. The complete proceedings will be explained again in committee.

❖ What does the Committee have in store for you?

The committee aims to proceed in the following manner.

Two agendas have been set for the delegates. We plan on discussing Agenda 2 on day 1, and succeed that with agenda 1 once it is finished.

Although the committee is unconventional in nature. We plan on having a Security Council or General Assembly-like format. We will proceed with General Speakers List (GSL) , Moderate Caucus, Unmoderated Caucus, Crisis and Press release. Both the agendas will be discussed by you delegates in a simple conventional manner, these proceedings will be supplemented by the transfer business explained above through chits ( or unmods ). At the time of Crisis, each

delegate will give their views on the provided statement. However unlike a Crisis Committee, or Conventional committee, this discussion will not be concluded by a Plan of Action, Communique or Resolution, In the UEFA, the session will be concluded by a Press Release. The International Press team i.e its journalists will hold a press conference with clubs representatives and a Press Release will be made.

The proceedings are fairly simple. If you are aware of the agenda and understand it, you will have no trouble. However since the topics are slightly technical in nature, we expect you to have a thorough understanding of the procedures at least.

AGENDA 1 : Reviewing and Discussing Financial Fairplay Policy ( FFP ) and European

transfers ❖ What is the Club Financial Control Body ( CFCB )

The work of the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) is supported by the Investigatory Chamber, led by the CFCB chief investigator for the monitoring and the investigation stage of the proceedings.

At the end of the investigation, the CFCB chief investigator, after having consulted with the other members of the investigatory chamber, may decide to dismiss the case; conclude, with the consent of the defendant, a settlement agreement; or apply, with the consent of the defendant, disciplinary measures limited to a warning, a reprimand or a fine up to a maximum amount of €100,000; or refer the case to the Adjudicatory Chamber, an official body that takes important decisions with regard to Financial breaches in football.

Chairman and Chief InvestigatorYves Leterme (Belgium)MembersJacobo Beltrán (Spain)Egon Franck (Germany)Petros Mavroidis (Greece)Damien Neven (Belgium)Richard Parry (England)

Konstantin Sonin (Russia)Yves Wehrli (France)

The rules of procedure for the CFCB can be found in the research links provided.

❖ What is Financial Fairplay ? The power of money was starting to get more and more prominent in European Football, and to tackle this very issue there was a regulation that was established to protect the long-term survival of the global game this establishment was known as UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations (FFP). This regulation was initiated by football’s governing body in Europe- Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).It was introduced in order to prevent clubs that qualify for UEFA competitions from spending beyond their means and stamp out what their president Michael Platini called "financial doping" within football. Platini believes the big spending of some clubs is ruining the game and feels that the level of debt carried by many is unsustainable.The regulations provide for sanctions to be taken against clubs who exceed spending, over several seasons, within a set budgetary framework. Implementation of the regulations took place at the outset of the 2011–12 football season. The most extreme penalty is disqualification from the European competitions. Other penalties included fines, withholding of prize money, and player transfer bans.Only a club's outgoings in transfers, employee benefits (including wages), amortisation of transfers, finance costs and dividends will be counted over income from gate receipts, TV revenue, advertising, merchandising, disposal of tangible fixed assets, finance, sales of players and prize money. Any money spent on infrastructure, training facilities or youth development will not be included. UEFA made its first FFP ruling in April based on club accounts from the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.According to FFP, Clubs can spend up to 5m euros (£3.9m) more than they earn per assessment period ( three seasons ) , although, under this monitoring period, total losses of 45m euros (£35m) were permitted as long as clubs had owners who could cover such amounts.The assessments are to be made over a rolling three-year period:The limits are:

• €45m for assessment periods 2013/14 and 2014/15• €30m for assessment periods 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18It is speculated that in the following years, the limit will be lower, with the exact amount still to be decided.At the end of the current season i.e 2018/2019 season, The UEFA will investigate the financial statements of each club. Clubs like PSG will have the uphill task of balancing their accounting books whereas Man City claims to have become financially stable. In a nutshell, Financial fair play is about improving the overall financial health of European club football and is a way to improve the economic and financial capability of the clubs, increase their transparency and credibilityTo be exact, clubs can spend up to €5million more than they earn per assessment period (three years). However, it can exceed this level to a certain limit, if it is entirely covered by a direct contribution/payment from the club owner(s) or a related party. This prevents the build-up of unsustainable debt. Therefore, clubs wishing to participate in UEFA competitions are required to demonstrate that they are not carrying overdue football creditor debts or any other tax liabilities. This is simply based upon the previous practice of football clubs where they kept on taking loans, and going deeper in debt. The clubs actually do not have any intention of repaying these loans, and thus the need for such regulations arose.

❖ Objectives? At the time of its proposed introduction, UEFA stated that it hoped to achieve the following objectives through FFP:

➔ Introduce more discipline and rationality in club football finances;

➔ Decrease pressure on salaries and transfer fees and limit inflationary effect;

➔ Encourage clubs to compete within their revenues and prevent drowning in deep debts;

➔ Encourage long-term investments in the youth sector and infrastructure;

➔ Protect the long-term viability of European club football at the highest level;

➔ Ensure clubs settle their liabilities on a timely basis.

❖ Measures and sanctions The range of measures are (in order) as follows:1) Warning 2) Reprimand (last warning) 3) Fine4) Deduction of points 5)Withholding of revenues from a UEFA competition6) Prohibition on registering new players in UEFA competitions 7) Restriction on the number of players that a club may register for participation in UEFA competitions, including a financial limit on the overall aggregate cost of the employee benefits expenses of players registered on the A-list for the purposes of UEFA club competitions8) Disqualification from competitions in progress and/or exclusion from future competitions9) Withdrawal of a title or award.

❖ Criticism One criticism of FFP is that it is a rule that is designed to protect the rich whilst disenfranchising the poor. Critics argue that FFP causes a further divide to the already existing financial inequalities in European football where the rich will continue to become richer and poorer clubs are denied the opportunity to attract investment that could enable them to challenge the richer clubs.In this context, it can be seen that the outcomes of most leagues in Europe including UEFA’s Champions League are predetermined and are usually dominated by the same rich clubs almost every season. So, for example, in the Premier League no other club outside of the usual top 4 of Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea have won the Premier league in the last 20 years ( exception being Leicester City ). The same pattern is repeated in Spain, Germany and Italy and inevitably it is clubs from these football rich nations that dominate the UEFA Champions League. Thus, European football operates on a pyramid class system. This has led to the FFP being accused of denying mobility, deterring investment and effectively limiting competition from new entrants and

specifically neutralising circumstances where new investment could transform otherwise modest football clubs by providing them the resources to challenge the established order. Other criticisms include:

1. Prevention of financially unstable clubs from receiving necessary capital infusions due to the risk of going into debt,

2. Cementing the existing elite status quo and prevention of new clubs from breaking into the top strata of European super clubs, thus reducing competition.

❖ Loopholes This criteria comes under Criticisms. The amount of loopholes account for FFP’s criticism. Let’s analyse this. We are aware of the fact that clubs are allowed to exceed a deficit of over £5 million in three years. However, this same rule allows clubs to extend the deficit up to £45 million ( now £30 million ) in losses if the club’s shareholders can pay it off as equity. So, a rule designed to make football a fairer playing field where finances are concerned, still allows those that are rich enough to go £40 million over.( Mind you that is a lot. Transfer Budgets of most clubs in fact ) Rather than doing the set objective, it just gives football clubs even more reason to seek rich private investors in order to break into Europe’s elite.

Another loophole is that, for example, a rich owner or investor of a football club could buy all the advertising space around the ground for let’s say, £100 million. Under the FFP rules, this would come under the club increasing its revenue. This way, the club would be able to pump more money, 100% legally.Lets take the case of Manchester City. The owner of football group has the power to fund their clubs. However this amount has to be declared at the beginning of the season, and it would be subtracted from the annual budget of the club. However, the legal way of getting fundings to balance the account of a club is primarily through sponsorship deals. In the 2012-2013 season, Roberto Mancini, former Manchester City manager, was sacked. However the termination of Mancini’s contract costed City millions and their accounts went into the negatives. This led to problems with financial fairplay regulations

and this is when the role of Sheikh Mansour, Man City Owner, comes to light. Sheikh found a trick to pump money into the club, without his name, legally. This was done in order to balance the accounts of the football club and remove all sorts of debt. With this, Manchester City had practically gained the ability to “print money”.What Sheikh Mansour did was pump money through City’s sponsors i.e Etihad Airways, owned by half brother of Sheikh Mansour, Etisalat, which also comes under a large influence of Sheikh Mansour and his family at the end of the season. The dates of theses transactions were changed to an earlier date to show as if these deals took place much earlier in the season in order to get off the hook. So essentially, City basically avoided all sorts of sanctions by rerouting Sheikh Mansour’s money through Abu Dhabi sponsorship deals. Which is essentially money laundering. Anyways Many such loopholes in the FFP exist and have been exploited. Now It is your job as a committee to find all the loopholes and bring forth points that would truly make this policy “fair”

❖ Case studyI. Manchester City

II. Paris Saint-GermainThe Manchester City case was briefly explained above, in the loopholes section. With regarding to Financial Fairplay Regulations, PSG and Man City are probably one of the important clubs. As they have been heavily involved in recent times. We would urge you delegates to read upon these cases along with your other research. We will provide you with links and videos for the same. Note that, these links won’t be sufficient, and we expect you to do more.

❖ Questions to address1. How effective are the current FFP rules?2. How to avoid breaches and loopholes?3. What is the scale on which clubs should be punished?4. What changes need to be brought in to ensure “fair play”?5. What is player amortisation? 6. What sanctions should Man City possibly face?7. Will PSG be able to pay off all of their debt?

❖ Suggested Links for FFP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy4p-l04vsU ( Man City case study )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ4P8-pVdM8&t=221s( PSG case study )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHgRiDvPzNY( ffp and player amortisation )

http://www.spiegel.de/international/manchester-city-exposed-bending-the-rules-to-the-tune-of-millions-a-1236346.html

http://www.spiegel.de/plus/manchester-city-vs-financial-fairplay-wie-mancity-den-regeln-entkommen-wollte-a-15b33121-e582-48d8-a314-a68666fbe54e

( Man city case study )

http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Tech/uefaorg/General/02/26/77/91/2267791_DOWNLOAD.pdf

http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Tech/uefaorg/General/02/28/72/46/2287246_DOWNLOAD.pdf

http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/uefaorg/FinancialFairPlay/02/34/59/83/2345983_DOWNLOAD.pdf

http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/OfficialDocument/uefaorg/FinancialFairPlay/02/24/58/35/2245835_DOWNLOAD.pdf

http://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/disciplinary/club-financial-controlling-body/investigatory-chamber/index.html?redirectFromOrg=truehttp://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/disciplinary/club-financial-controlling-body/adjudicatory-chamber/index.html?

redirectFromOrg=true

http://www.uefa.com/community/news/newsid=2064391.html

http://ec.europa.eu/assets/eac/sport/library/documents/cons-study-transfers-final-rpt.pdf

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/sep/02/financial-fair-play-manchester-city

AGENDA 2: Implementation Of Video Assistant Referee

VARThe video assistant referee (VAR) is a football assistant referee who reviews decisions made by the head referee with the use of video footage and a headset for communication. In 2018, VARs were written into the Laws of the Game by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) following trials in a number of major competitions.

Procedure:There are 4 types of calls that can be reviewed.

● Goals and whether there was a violation during the attacking phase of play, such as an offside or a foul

● Penalty decisions (other fouls are not reviewable, except below)

● Direct red card decisions (second yellow cards are not reviewable)

● Mistaken identity in awarding a red or yellow cardThe standard for overturning the referee's original decision is that there has been a "clear error," sometimes expanded to "clear and obvious error."[3]

The process begins with the video assistant referee(s) and the assistant video assistant referee (AVAR) reviewing the play in question on a bank of monitors in the video operation room (VOR) with the assistance of the replay operator. This can be triggered by the referee requesting the review or by the VAR conducting a "check" to see if a review should be recommended to the referee. If the VAR finds nothing during the check, then communication with the referee is unnecessary, which is called a "silent check". If the VAR believes there has been a potential clear error, the referee will be contacted with that judgment. The referee can then either (a) change the call on the advice of the VAR or (b) conduct an on-field review (OFR) by going to a designated spot on the sideline, called the referee review area, to review the video with the help of the review assistant or (c) decide that he/she is confident in the original call and not conduct an OFR. The referee is allowed to stop play to reverse a call or conduct an OFR, but is not supposed to do so when either team is engaged in good attacking possibility. The official signal for a video review is the referee making the outline of a rectangle with his index fingers (indicating a video screen). This precedes both any OFR as well as any change in the original call. Players who demand a video review by making the rectangle motion excessively are to be cautioned with a yellow card. Players who enter the area where the referee conducts an OFR are also to be cautioned with a yellow card, and team officials who do so are to be dismissed.[2]

There are guidelines the referee and the VAR should follow in conducting a video review. For example, slow motion should only be used for "point of contact" offences, such as physical offences and handballs. Regular speed should be used to determine the intensity of an offence and whether a handball was deliberate. Reviews for goals, penalty kick decisions, and red cards for denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity cover the period back to the beginning of the "attacking possession phase", when the attacking team first gained possession of the ball or restarted play. Other reviews only cover the incident itself. The VAR will be a current or former referee. Assistant video assistant referee

The assistant video assistant referee (AVAR) is a current or former referee appointed to assist the VAR in the video operation room. The responsibilities of the AVAR include watching the live action on the field while the VAR is undertaking a "check" or a "review", to keep notes of incidents, and to communicate the outcome of a review to broadcasters.

CONTROVERSIAL INCIDENTS

1.Kuwaiti Sheikh gets a goal disallowed at the 1982 World Cup2.Harald Schumacher's terrible and unpunished tackle on Patrick Battiston at 1982 World Cup3.The ghost goals: Liverpool vs. Chelsea and Reading vs. Watford4.Henry handball vs. Ireland during World Cup 2010 qualifier5.Rijkaard spits on Voller at World Cup 19906.Rivaldo feigning injury vs. Turkey at World Cup 20027.Maradona's 'Hand of God'

P.S; Please keep in mind that these are only a few amongst many instances where VAR could have helped

VAR PositivesThe first major positive that can be given some serious kudos is the fact that it is actually being utilized and at the highest level too. Whereas the likes of cricket and rugby have been employing similar referral technologies, football has been lagging behind in this regard and taken too long to instate any sort of system. It’s the modern era after all.It pains to wonder just how many critical decisions were made in which match officials got it totally wrong, particularly in marquee tournaments and games, thus ruining careers, legacies and influencing proceedings in the wrong manner. World cup final results could have been far different if technology was in play, in terms of penalties, mistaken identities, off-sides, red

cards issued and other similar such circumstances.Goal-line technology comes in to play here as well. How many balls have crossed the line in huge fixtures (Frank Lampard in 2010 is the best example) and the goal was not given? How many did not pass the line and the goal was indeed given? Some serious food-for-thought!Secondly, it does seem that the majority of correct decisions are indeed being made due to the system. The current World Cup has seen wrong decisions being overturned due to the technology. At the end of the day, referees are mere human beings and are bound to get things wrong in the moment and need all the assistance that they can get (no more ‘Hand of God goals’). A few more replays/views on the monitor are worth it if the correct calls are going to be made.This protects referees and I am sure there will be far less death threats going forward, as we have seen in the past. Match officials are in essence afforded a ‘second chance’ which is the fair thing to do.Thirdly, the entertainment aspect. This is one point that shouldn’t be underestimated. A referee stopping the match in order to review a vital call (especially in terms of penalties or a possible goal being scored), creates an immediate buzz around stadiums and tension at home in front of the television set.A referral creates drama and suspense especially with both sets of fans. The anxious wait is what adds a different dimension to the beautiful game.Infantino also stated: “We can see in the matches, where the game is being interrupted, this creates an additional moment of tension where everyone is waiting”.

VAR NegativesYes the system is much welcomed and its overall implementation is probably for the betterment of the game and seems here to stay. However, it can most definitely be improved and does have a few teething problems.The first and probably biggest negative of VAR is the ‘time’ aspect. ‘Minimum interference for maximum impact’ was supposed to be the mantra when the system first launched but is

this truly the case?As alluded to above, the system is long overdue and the main reason for this is that the powers that be did not want matches to be slowed down or interrupted. Bodies were against halting the flow of the game and one can see why. As much entertainment as it provides, the stop in play can also be a tad annoying. In some instances, a referral takes far too long to be ratified and celebrations have to be put on hold, especially for match winning goals.“It takes the excitement out of football; players don’t hug each other after scoring a goal any more, instead they look straight towards the referee. It’s removing the adrenaline and my enjoyment of football,” Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi complained.Perhaps a time limit can be introduced so that referees will be pushed to make quick decisions. All it takes is a couple of replays in order to get the correct decisions.Secondly, even with VAR, decisions could still be subjective. The referee making the call, even after or while viewing replays, could interpret the situation in a different way to other referees. Hence, there is no clear cut method of arriving at certain decisions.Thirdly, the human element (which was a huge part of why the game is fun), is now reduced. An incorrect off-side call (due to plain and simple human error) by the linesman that resulted in the winning goal or indeed prevented the winning goal, caused debate among fans in bars and pubs or on the way home after the game, and this is now somewhat taken out of the equation with the advent of VAR.The system is trying to make things ‘perfect’, no better than a PlayStation video game and is that really good for the sport? It somewhat kills the romance of football doesn’t it?In conclusion, the jury is still out and for every positive that VAR offers, there seems to be a negative to go along with it. Even in years or decades to come there will never be consensus. I am personally still on the fence but can definitely see how it can be good for the game in terms of fairness (even though an extra coast is now involved in rolling it out). For now, you make up your own mind.