Bournemouth warned they face worrying issue if they miss out on Champions League qualification

Bournemouth have been warned they could face squad-cost ratio (SCR) issues should they miss out on Champions League football.

The Cherries are currently leading the race for a potential place among Europe’s elite, as they sit sixth in the Premier League.

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They have not lost a game in the league since January, going 16 games unbeaten in manager Andoni Iraola’s final few months.

It has seen them rise up the table to sixth, with their first-ever campaign in European football all but secured already.

That huge achievement is going to be one to celebrate – but the competition they play in could end up being pivotal.

And it all comes down to the 70 per cent SCR system in Europe.

What is SCR?

SCR, or squad-cost ratio, allows clubs to spend up to a certain percentage of their revenue on any costs related to players.

In Europe, that is 70 per cent, but in the Premier League, for clubs not playing in a UEFA competition, the cap is 85 per cent.

Bournemouth will have always operated at the 85 per cent limit, but if they end up qualifying, it will drop to 70 next season.

Concerns for Bournemouth

Football finance expert and regular talkSPORT guest, Stefan Borson, has raised concerns over the impact that could have on the club.

A place in the Champions League would make things easier due to its financial benefits, but anything less may be detrimental.

Borson wrote on X: “Bournemouth’s likely UEFA qualification is, perversely, about to trigger a raft of SCR issues.

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“Champions League will be lucrative enough to fix any issues, Europa and Conference may not.

“Even with their huge recent trading profits, a 70% SCR cap will be very hard to comply with (both at UEFA and PL levels).

“Remember, Bournemouth were one of the vocal dissenters to the SCR implementation. One to watch.”

Should Bournemouth miss out on the Champions League and go on to breach the SCR cap, punishments could follow.

That could range from fines to spending limits and even potential points deductions depending on the level of overspending.

But it remains to be seen how the club will be impacted and, of course, the Cherries need to get over the line first.

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Not the only team in trouble

Bournemouth’s warning from Borson comes a month after finance expert Kieran Maguire raised concerns for Newcastle.

Eddie Howe‘s side have struggled this season, but they still have some faint hope of securing a place in the Conference League.

But Maguire believes they would be better off without it.

He said told talkSPORT’s Inside the Toon in April: “The weird thing is, I think the club finishing eighth [or ninth] in the Premier League, is going to end up being in a better position than the club finishing seventh that qualifies for the Conference.

“Because if you qualify for the Conference, you have to abide by UEFA’s rules, which say that you can only spend 70 per cent of your revenue on player costs – if you don’t qualify for Europe and finish eighth [or ninth], you can spend 85 per cent.

“I had a long conversation with the club, and [a Newcastle figure] said, ‘Yeah, Albania on a Thursday night, nobody particularly wants to go there from the club, apart from the fans, and we certainly don’t want to do that from the boardroom point of view.'”