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Liverpool hopeful of avoiding UEFA fines

Liverpool are confident of avoiding any breaches of UEFA's financial fair play rules, sources have told ESPN, with the club's accounts due to be probed by the governing body.

UEFA will make an announcement on Thursday with Liverpool set to be named alongside Monaco, Inter Milan and Roma as one of the clubs that must offer information about their accounts from the past three years, as reported by ESPN on Tuesday.

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The four clubs have been chosen as they did not feature in European competition last season, with UEFA's Club Financial Control Body seeking talks.

No financial sanctions will be imposed at this stage, although a provisional sanction to withhold Champions League money is possible as a next step in the process.

Liverpool believe the investigation is part of the ongoing process and sources have said the club are hopeful of complying due to being able to write off stadium expenditure.

Liverpool incurred losses of £49.8 million for the 2012-13 season and £40.5m for the previous 10-month period, which they attribute to the former ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr.

Hicks' plan to build a new stadium was abolished by current owners Fenway Sports Group, who wrote off £39m in the process.

According to UEFA, losses must be no more than £35.4m pounds over the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, although expenses, such as youth development and stadium costs, can be written off.

Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain were the clubs hit hardest by UEFA last season for breaching FFP rules - they were each fined £49m and handed restrictions on transfer spending and a reduction in Champions League squad size.

UEFA remain confident that legal action against its FFP rules will be defeated and that a crucial European Commission decision in its favour will be made in the next fortnight.

City's independent supporters' club has joined the legal action being taken by Belgian agent Daniel Striani, which was lodged with the European Commission and the Belgian courts in May 2013.

A statement from MCFC Supporters Club, which has almost 15,000 active members and 168 branches worldwide, said: "Far from implementing a true 'financial fair play', this rule is in fact a prohibition to invest that prevents ambitious owners to develop their clubs, that therefore shields the established European elite from being challenged [this elite being unsurprisingly the main sponsors of the UEFA rule] and that, consequently, puts additional financial pressure on supporters [higher prices and lower quality].

"With this UEFA rule, it is now almost impossible for any ambitious investor to take over a 'sleeping giant' and to turn them into the next Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain.''

Liverpool's principal owner John W Henry abolished plans to build a new stadium, writing off £39 million pounds in the process © Getty Images

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