Newcastle likely to be given second chance with UEFA after financial breach - Stefan Borson

Newcastle United were recently slapped with a couple of fines for breaching two of UEFA's financial regulations.

The Magpies had worked with UEFA to agree a settlement after admitting to the breaches, and compared to the likes of Aston Villa, Newcastle actually got off quite easily.

Newcastle must now be careful not to breach these regulations again, however, and have worked out a strict spending plan with UEFA to ensure that they remain compliant; otherwise, they risk a transfer ban.

Although football finance expert Stefan Borson believes that Newcastle may get another chance if they do come a cropper again.

Stefan Borson believes Newcastle will not be punished for further breaches by UEFA

Speaking to Football Insider, Borson believes that UEFA are often quite lenient, even when a club breaches their rules a second time, citing Marseille as the example.

"They're quite lenient. Even if you breach the settlement agreement, they usually give you another chance," he said.

"They say, 'Well, we really will ban you next time you do it'. They'll give them one last warning. Let's see what happens.

"That's basically what happened with Marseille, although, in fairness. France has been very difficult from the TV perspective.

"But UEFA right now, Marseille got to the end of their settlement agreement, and breached it. Not by a lot, apparently.

"And UEFA, rather than banning them, which was what they could have done, they said, 'We'll give you one more chance'. So that might happen."

Were PIF testing the waters with these breaches?

It's worth mentioning that Stefan Borson is the man who has been promising answers on Manchester City's 115 FFP charges for months/years now, so we shouldn't take his word as gospel.

We expect that even if Newcastle did feel that UEFA would be lenient, they're not likely to test the theory. Ever since the takeover, the PIF has been careful to stay on the right side of the rules, due in no small part to the opposition they faced during the takeover process.

After five years and no super signings, though, the scrutiny may have died down. Maybe that's why they tested the waters with UEFA? Unlikely, but we can dream.

At some point, we do expect that Newcastle will rally together with the likes of Aston Villa and protest these financial regulations that are stifling competition. At least we hope they do, because the longer they continue to create a divide, the worse it gets for the game.