Hearts look like being caught in the crossfire of the Sevco UEFA licence issue.
Unless they go into administration before the end of the season it seems certain that Dave King’s company will finish in the top three in the SPFL and qualify for a place in the Europa League qualifiers.
Should any team other than Hibs win the Scottish Cup the fourth placed team in the Premiership will be given the final Europa League spot.
The weekend results saw St Johnstone leapfrog Hearts into fourth spot with Ian Cathro’s side sinking fast.
While a change in management has clearly caused a lot of problems Hearts have been keeping their debts at a manageable level, well within the £4.2m that UEFA allow over a three year period.
Sevco have run up losses of £11.9m in the last two years to become the third best team in Scotland with UEFA looking down on clubs that achieve on field success by racking up debt.
The purpose of that rule is to try and ensure that clubs are run on a sound business basis and not put at risk by egomaniac owners desperate for success at any cost.
Hearts fans are putting close to £200,000 a month into buying their club outright having refused to take ‘the liquidation option’.
The prospect of getting through four rounds of qualifiers might be slight but with a £4m bonus awaiting them for reaching the group phase of the Europa League that competition could transform their finances.
Ann Budge will be well aware of the FFP rules, it seems certain that the Tynecastle boardroom will be watching closely to make sure that their not penalised for running their club in a sustainable manner.
