http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/mar/30/liverpool-uefa-ian-ayre-finance?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Ffootball%2Frss+%28Football%29 Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre has said he fears Uefa's new financial fair play rules will be "killed" if they are not applied equally across Europe. Ayre, who also confirmed that Liverpool are actively pursuing naming rights for a new stadium or a redeveloped Anfield, is concerned there will not be a level playing field when the new rules come into force in 2014. Uefa's rules will ban clubs from playing in European competition if they spend more than they earn, but the rules will initially be enforced by individual national associations and leagues. Ayre told the Soccerex conference in Manchester that Liverpool's recent takeover had cleared most of their debt so the club would comply with the regulations. But he said: "These rules should be rules and should be hard and fast. "What will kill the initiative or certainly stifle it is people easing themselves into it rather than the rules applying and everyone operating within them. The rules should be clearly defined, you cannot have a half-rule process. We see it as a positive step but the reservations around it are the proof of the pudding being in the application, how it will be applied – will people be given grace periods, will the sanctions be applied? "The question is will it be as fairly applied? If the Premier League takes a very serious and professional view and does it properly does it put itself at a disadvantage? If it is not managed well and delivered well we would all question the outcome of it." Uefa's head of club licensing Andrea Traverso said the rules were "a sort of soft salary cap" and insisted they would be overseen by an independent panel to ensure it was being applied fairly across Europe. He also warned that Uefa would be watching to ensure clubs could not get under-the-counter income boosts from huge sponsorship or stadium naming rights deals from companies associated with them, and would have to prove any deals were close to the market value. Ayre, though, foresees potential problems with that stance in terms of naming rights: "We are aiming to invest in a new stadium or an improved stadium. From our perspective that is a real concern because that's something we are talking about to people right now – about what is the number, what is the right price, the market value. "In our most recent shirt sponsorship deal we had a 200% increase – would that be acceptable? As one of the truly global football brands what is the number, the market value? It could be very difficult for Liverpool if it is an area challenged," he said. Traverso insisted however that the deals targeted by Uefa would be those done by companies or people related to clubs and not third parties.
