© BELGIUM
Excelsior Virton will challenge the license that Lommel SK received from the Belgian Football Association (RBFA) to play in the Challenger Pro League next season. The team from the Gaume, which is on the verge of relegation to the first national (the highest amateur division), reported this on Thursday.
Bron: BELGIAN
Virton has announced in a lengthy statement that it will take legal action against what it describes as “excessive foreign subsidies” for certain clubs. Virton wants to see an end to this form of “distortion of competition” and wants to go to the Court of Justice of the European Union if necessary.
In their speech, the Luxembourgers refer to European top clubs that live on foreign money (not from the European Union), such as Paris Saint-Germain (Qatar) and Manchester City (United Arab Emirates). In Belgium, according to Virton, it concerns AS Eupen (Qatar) from first class, but also series mate Lommel, which, like Manchester City, depends on the impressive City Football Group.
In Virton’s eyes, such wealthy owners have a negative impact on the ecosystem of European football and provide “financial doping”. After all, their high capital injections cause transfer amounts and player wages to rise unnaturally quickly, which in turn causes competition distortion.
‘Foreign subsidies’
Virton reports that it warned the RBFA that it would be an infringement of competition law to grant Lommel a license. The Limburgers got the green light, which the Luxembourgers do not like. That is why they challenge the licensing before the competent authorities.
Excelsior also filed a complaint with the European Commission “asking it to use its new powers to end the ‘foreign subsidies’ that distort the professional football market in the European Union and in particular in Belgium”.
