Friday 8 February 2013 13:14, UK
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes the Premier League could encounter difficulties applying new spending controls.
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore says all sanctions are open if clubs fail to abide by the rules. "As all things in our rulebook you will subject to a disciplinary commission. The clubs understand that if people break the £105m we will look for the top-end ultimate sanction range - a points deduction. "Normally we stay silent on sanctions as the commission has a free range but clearly if there is a material breach of that rule we will be asking the commission to consider top-end sanctions." The vote for financial regulations could hardly have been closer, with only 13 of the 20 clubs voting in favour, with six against and Reading abstaining. It meant that the 'yes' vote only narrowly achieved the necessary two-thirds majority of the 19 votes cast. Clubs sources say Fulham, West Brom, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Swansea and Southampton all voted against. Scudamore said there would be an "absolute prohibition" on clubs reporting losses of more than £105m over the next three years with the first sanctions possible in 2016. Of the 20 clubs in the top flight, only Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool have reported losses of more than £105m over the last three years, according to the most up-to-date published accounts. The regulations have come about against the backdrop of UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) initiative. Under UEFA's new rules clubs are being forced to minimise losses or risk the possibility of exclusion from European competition from 2014/15. You can only watch the best Barclays Premier League coverage here on Sky Sports. Watch Manchester United v Everton exclusively live on Sky Sports 1HD, 3D and Sky Go from 3.30pm on Sunday 10th February. Click here for more details
