UEFA fines Marseille €10 million, imposes Europa League squad restriction and suspended ban
Olympique de Marseille have been fined €10 million by UEFA for breaching financial fair play rules, but the French club will be allowed to compete in the 2026-27 Europa League under a suspended ban and player registration limits.
The sanctions
UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) announced the penalty on Wednesday after Marseille failed to meet a football earnings target enshrined in a 2022 settlement agreement. The breach covers the reporting periods ending in 2023, 2024 and 2025. A fine of €6 million was imposed for that violation, and an additional €4 million was levied because the club exceeded the 70% squad cost ratio in the 2025 calendar year, spending more than the allowed share of football revenue on wages, transfers and agent fees.
Marseille failed to comply with the football earnings rule in the 2025-26 season (i.e. covering the reporting periods ending in 2023, 2024 and 2025).
The total financial penalty is €10 million ($11.6 million). The CFCB also restricted Marseille from adding new players to their List A squad for the 2026-27 UEFA competition, meaning their main Europa League roster is effectively frozen for the upcoming campaign.
The suspended ban and squad restriction
The harshest measure, exclusion from a future European competition, remains conditional. UEFA stated that if Marseille do not meet the football earnings target again in 2026-27, they will be banned from the next European tournament for which they qualify over the following three seasons. Practically, that means the 2027-28 campaign is the earliest possible exclusion. Marseille finished fifth in Ligue 1 last season, securing direct entry to the Europa League group phase, but the club now has a one-year reprieve to get back within the rules.
OM escaped the worst, but exclusion was very close. The discussions were long and difficult.
This outcome reflects arguments raised by the club about the collapse of French domestic broadcasting revenues, a factor the CFCB partly accepted when it decided not to impose an immediate ban.
- Marseille signs a settlement agreement with UEFA, committing to a balanced budget and a deficit cap of €60m over three seasons.
- Reporting periods covered by the football earnings rule. Marseille records breaches during these financial years.
- UEFA announces sanctions: €10m fine, squad restriction for List A in 2026-27 Europa League, and a suspended ban.
- Marseille must meet the football earnings target this season. If not, exclusion from the next European competition they qualify for within three years.
- Earliest possible season for exclusion if the 2026-27 target is missed.
Other clubs: Roma fined, seven clubs cleared
AS Roma were also fined €2 million for a squad cost rule breach, while seven clubs that had been under settlement agreements, AC Milan, AS Monaco, Beşiktaş, Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Royal Antwerp and Trabzonspor, met their final targets for the 2025-26 season and exited UEFA's monitoring regime.
Background and reaction
Marseille signed the original settlement in 2022, committing to bring their finances toward a balanced budget with a deficit no larger than €60 million over three seasons and shareholder support covering at least €55 million of that gap. The club failed to meet those terms, but UEFA's decision today keeps them in Europe on probation. New sporting director Grégory Lorenzi now faces a summer of austerity as he tries to strengthen a squad that cannot register new senior players for continental competition.
