The Associations, after paying 5% of their debts to the Department of Internal Revenue (Income Tax), will pay the remaining amount in 48 monthly installments, ie in four years.
The debts amounted to 5,84 million euros and were reduced below 5 million euros after the payment of 885.095 euros by the COM last April. This is money that the teams were entitled to for their performance in the years 2010 and 2011. If the payment was not made by the COM and mainly the arrangement between the Minister of Finance and the head of the Criteria Committee of the KOP, Nick Nikolaou, some of the 11 unions who owe Income Tax would not be included in the criteria, while AEL, Omonia and Anorthosis could not play in Europe.
Of the 5,84m euros, 3m euros relate to debts formed before 2007. At that time, the Koutsokoumni-Sarri agreement and the famous "plan to repay the debts of football clubs to the state" were reached. The debts at that time were 5,5 million pounds (9,4 million euros). A large amount was covered, but for unions that were not consistent with the provisions of the plan, the payments were terminated, thus resulting in the amount of 3 million euros. The breach of the agreement was the reason why the 885.095 euros in the CMO funds were "frozen", as the plan explicitly provided that from 2011 no state subsidy would reach a union that does not pay its obligations. As can be seen from the attached table, the only clubs that showed consistency were APOEL, Nea Salamina and Anagennisi Deryneia. However, in September 2009, the presidents of Omonia, APOEL and Anorthosis assured the then Minister of Finance, Charilaos Stavrakis, that "the unions they lead fully comply with the provisions of the Plan".
Debts in VAT and K.A.
Debts to Social Security are estimated at half a million euros, a small amount to create particular problems. An amount of 8,5 million euros is due to VAT, but these debts are not included in the UEFA criteria, so they do not create particular problems for clubs. It is worth noting that out of 8,5 million euros, 7,6 million euros relate to debts before 2007, ie they are regulated.
Failure to comply
In the plan of 2007 it becomes clear that it is the obligation of the KOP "to impose the implementation of the Agreement by all its members".
Otherwise there will be consequences:
- Exit from the provisions of the Plan, which makes all debts payable immediately.
- Deprivation of any state sponsorship.
- Prohibition of transfers.
- Exclusion from the European Championships.
- Subtraction from 4 to 6 points from the scoreboard of the next league.
The state and the Ministry of Finance, not only did not demand the imposition of any sanction, apart from the deprivation of state sponsorships, but proceeded to new flexible regulations with the unions that were defaulting. Specifically, in 2011 a loan of 2,5 million euros was made in favor of the refugee associations. The state will pay 1,7 million euros. Also last year, the payment of those owed to Income Tax and Social Insurance was extended. The extension concerned debts until March 30, 2011, expired this year and the settlement for a four-year payment was made. However, we should not overlook the fact that after the 2007 agreement, some unions pay their debts, in whole or in part.
Finally, according to the president of the KOP, Costa Koutsokoumni, the debts of the football clubs at the end of 2009 were 45 million euros, while at the end of 2010 they amounted to 61 million euros. From this money it is estimated that Omonia owes 25 million euros and Anorthosis 8 million euros.
ΠΙΝΑ Κ Α Σ
Debts to Income Tax, before the last settlement (In parentheses the amount paid by the COM)
Omonia 2.009.048 (242.502)
Anorthosis 1.106.507 (159.429)
AEL 1.060.191 (44.785)
Apollo 625.203 (147.285)
Association 231.773 (44.785)
Ethnikos Achnas 124.602 (36.642)
AEK 107.294 (79.629)
Moose 86.315 (36.642)
Olympiakos 84.779 (28.270)
Mars 76.821 (28.499)
Hermes 41.871 (36.642)
TOTAL 5.554.404 (885.110)
* all amounts are in euros
ΠΙΝΑ Κ Α Σ 2
The indebted Cypriot football
61 total debt of the teams
30 donated over time the state to the unions
8,5 VAT debts
5 the debts to the Income Tax
25 the debt of Omonia
8 the debt of Anorthosis
TIMELINE
Government concessions amounting to 30 million euros
1998 - The Council of Ministers of the Clerides government writes off the debts of the unions to the state amounting to 1.141.889 pounds (1.952.630 euros) with "in favor of financial aid".
2003 - Markos Kyprianou, Minister of Finance of Tassos Papadopoulos, signs the Association Support Plan of 7 million pounds (12 million euros), which provides immediate disbursement of 4 million pounds and 1,5 million pounds for each of the years 2004 and 2005.
2004 - In December the unions owe 3.347.196 5.723.705 (€ XNUMX) to the state.
2005 - KOP secures a loan of 3,6 6,16 million (€ XNUMX million) from the German DEPFA. The loan was paid and repaid by the state last year.
2007 - Michalis Sarris, Minister of Finance of Tassos Papadopoulos, signs the Debt Repayment Plan of Football Clubs in the State amounting to 5,5 million pounds (9,4 million euros). The 3 2004 million would come from the non-payment of the amounts of the Association Support Plan for the years 2005 and 2,5, while another εκα XNUMX million would be received by the associations as a sponsorship.
2010 - A loan of 2,5 million euros is made in favor of the refugee associations. The 1,7 million euros are paid by the COM and the rest by the KOP.
2011 - The Ministry of Finance of Charilaos Stavrakis gives the unions an extension of payments of their debts, in order to pass the criteria.
2012 - Finance Minister Vassos Siarlis agrees with Nick Nikolaou to pay the debts of the unions in 48 monthly installments.
The misunderstanding with APOEL
The latest payment from the COM to the Department of Internal Revenue, with money that belonged to the unions but would never end up in them due to debts to the state, set fire to the Organization's relations with APOEL. As shown in the table, no payment was made in favor of the blue and yellows, as they do not owe the state. APOEL considered that they went to deceive them, but the KOA claims that the approximately 300.000 euros allocated to them were "frozen" in the coffers and would be given to the Nicosia team, attributing the case to a misunderstanding, which was finally resolved.
Stricter controls for settlements
UEFA committees consider ways to limit the amount of settlements that clubs are allowed to make
With almost all the teams in the first division owing even a monthly fee to the players, but also a lot of money from previous seasons, the settlements with the players, in the days before the end of the quarterly examination of the UEFA criteria files, are the main way for clubs to get it "clean". The teams' cooking in terms of settlements has worried the relevant UEFA committees, which are considering various ways to limit the amount of settlements that each club can make during the UEFA criteria dossier submission periods. Such a possibility will certainly tighten the belts of the Cypriot teams, which are running at the last minute to extract the signatures of the players for significant debts, in order to avoid the sanctions by the Criteria Committee.
The current situation
From the announcement of the KOP a few days ago, it became known that Olympiacos was not licensed after the control of March, as a result of which they accepted the deduction of three points from the championship of the 2012-13 season. The Nicosia team, at the same time, is in serious danger in the next two audits, at the end of June and at the end of September, since if it is not possible to meet the financial obligations, then the black and greens will accept two more penalties of three points each, resulting in play in the new league with minus nine points. At the same time, Alki and Nea Salamina had to present additional data to pass the audit, while, as it turned out, out of the 14 teams in the first division, eleven - based on their balance sheets and auditors' reports - showed uncertainty and doubt about their viability. In other words, it seemed that they do not operate under healthy conditions and there is a risk that they will not be able to cope with future examinations of their files. Thus, the Criteria Committee asked the eleven groups for a plan to improve their finances and sustainability, as well as a personal guarantee of the members of the administrations to the KOP for the next twelve months. The chairman of the Criteria Committee of the KOP, Nick Nikolaou, once again wanted to bring out the bad image that prevails: "We are sending SOS to the teams. If they are not tidy, other clubs will follow the path of Pegeia and Olympiakos, it is a matter of time. "And if it were not for the agreement with the state, too many unions would not have passed this control."
The tragedy of the B category
Things are even worse in the B category. As PASP announced in March, teams owed even five per month, such as Paphos, APOP / Kinyras and Atromitos, while the footballers of Parekklisia are in a better situation, to whom… only one salary was owed. The week that starts on June 4, the CCP Criteria Committee will meet to examine the case of category B. There are expected to be several teams that will face licensing problems, with the focus falling on Paphos, Doxa and Ayia Napa, which were promoted to the first division this year.
Source: KATHIMERINI