Stoke City chairman confirms stance on Financial Fair Play rules
Stoke City may be owned by a billionaire but they have been strictly limited in terms of how much they can invest in the transfer market
Stoke City owner and chairman John Coates has reiterated his desire for football’s financial model to be redrawn.
The bet365 billionaire has been able to invest hundreds of millions of pounds into the club but is restricted in terms of how much of that can be used in the transfer market because of profit and sustainability rules. It is a complex subject initially intended to safeguard clubs from spending more than they could afford but there have been arguments that they have also accentuated the gap between the Premier League and the rest and then the Championship clubs with parachute payments and the rest.
Stoke have been lobbying for change since even they were in the top flight themselves and the EFL has called for a redistribution of money to try to get a handle on a growing chasm. Talks to adapt the rules are ongoing.
Coates has held up his hands that Stoke have made their own mistakes which haven’t helped their cause on the pitch, such as the transfer window in summer 2018 after they had been relegated, but he makes the case that the current fair play rules in the Championship are “not fit for purpose”.
