For the first time, after intense efforts by the Tax Department, the state managed to corner football companies, which finally did the obvious and complied with their obligations to the state.
That is, some of them have paid part of the additional tax debts they have created, others have paid their debts in full and some others have pledged to do so.
Something that had not been done for so many years, and the respective governments, due to the fear of losing votes (strength of the fans), showed great tolerance and closed their eyes in relation to the debts of the football clubs, resulting in them being stacked and reaching €25.6 million.
After all, it is no coincidence that the clubs that have the largest debts to the state are the ones that have the most fans. That is, the more followers they have, the more the state has closed its eyes over time.
Despite the great noise that has finally been made about the issue and the steps forward, as some of the groups have been forced to comply, others fully and others partially, what has been observed lately is that no decisions are being made on what is going to happen.
The Minister of Finance, Makis Keravnos, argued that this particular issue is the competence of the Commissioner of Taxation, who dutifully handles such cases.
The same position is expressed by the Presidential Office, which considers that it is not a matter for the Council of Ministers.
On the other hand, the Tax Department believes that the Council of Ministers should decide whether to reinstate football clubs in the debt repayment plan, as in May 2023 the Ministry had approved the operation of this plan.
Football clubs are not just any taxpayer, as the Government claims, which is why a political decision is required for this issue and not a decision by a technocrat.
I cannot understand the involvement that exists in the decision-making. The issue cannot be perpetuated and legislation must finally be implemented. However, the long draws have come close and the more the decision is postponed, the more complicated the situation becomes.
The state has two options before it, either the reintegration of the clubs into the plan, or the activation of the indictments for former and current football executives.
By the end of the month, there should be a conclusion, as the competent ministry will have to give the relevant certificate to the CFA in relation to UEFA's criteria.
This means that those clubs that have not paid the new debts they have created, should not receive the relevant certificate for UEFA's criteria and then have their former and current managers brought to justice.
This implies that some of the clubs will get into great adventures, as those that do not settle their obligations will be faced with a series of sanctions.
The penalties provided for are deduction of points (up to 6), a ban on transfers and a ban on participation in European competitions, which is valid for three years.
That is, if a ban is imposed on a team to participate in an event in Europe and this year it does not get a European ticket, but gets it next season, it will still not be eligible to participate, until the 3-year moratorium passes.
Therefore, things are much more serious than some people think, so it would be good for someone to finally make the decision.
Ordinary citizens do not care about who will decide, but about the decision that will be taken, by which everyone should be treated equally.
With these data, those teams that have not yet complied by the day of issuance of the relevant certificate by the ministry, will have to be accountable to the competent authorities and sanctioned them.
They had a lot of time at their disposal to secure the money. The teams that wanted to comply have already done so.