Arsenal have been fined 40,000 Swiss francs ($42,300) by FIFA and warned about their conduct on player transfers after sell-on clauses in player transfer deals.
In a previously undisclosed investigation, FIFA legal documents reviewed by The Associated Press revealed the global governing body’s concerns about the terms of the 2018 departures of Chuba Akpom to Greek club PAOK Thessaloniki and Joel Campbell to Italian side Frosinone Calcio.
It was decided that Arsenal had been given influence over other clubs as the Gunners would receive a bigger cut of the deal if either player was sold to British clubs.
Arsenal placed sell-on clauses in the contracts to ensure PAOK would receive only 40% of the fee if Akpom was sold to a British club but 30% from any other team, while Frosinone were also given an incentive to not later sell Campbell back to a British club as 30% of the fee would have to be paid to Arsenal.
The FIFA disciplinary committee then found Arsenal to be in violation of the rules for entering into contracts enabling it to influence other clubs and for failing to declare data in the TMS.
“The committee considers that, by the mere existence of these clauses, Frosinone and PAOK FC are influenced by Arsenal in employment and transfer-related matters,” FIFA disciplinary committee member Thomas Hollerer wrote in the verdict document on Thursday.
“The committee considers that the relevant clauses undoubtedly grant Arsenal the ability to influence in employment and transfer-related matters the independence, policies and the performance of PAOK FC and Frosinone’s teams.”
Arsenal told FIFA the transfer terms did not enable it to influence any transfer decisions by PAOK or Frosinone and said the English Football Association and Premier League were satisfied there was no breach of third-party influence rules.
“It is evident that in a scenario in which PAOK FC and/or Frosinone receive two similar and/or identical offers for the transfer of the relevant players, one being from a club in the United Kingdom and the other one coming from a club outside the United Kingdom,” Hollerer wrote.
“PAOK FC and Frosinone would be more inclined to accept the offer coming from the club outside the United Kingdom, as it would make the operation most profitable from a purely financial point of view.”
