Soccer in Europe can avoid new anti-cheating regulations.

Few European states, including France, are refusing to introduce enhanced control obligations despite the sector's permeability to money laundering.

Football today is not only a sport, but also a particularly vulnerable economic sector to financial crime: illegal betting, rigged matches, inflated transfers, hidden commissions, dubious investments. In such a case, should it be given the same treatment as financial services or real estate, whose professionals are subject to strict anti-money laundering rules?

This is the topic currently being discussed in the European institutions in Brussels

Where a quietly bitter battle between European lawmakers is lurking. On Wednesday, November 29, this was the focus of the "tripartite negotiation process" - a session of talks between the Parliament, the Commission and European Union (EU) member states, which once again failed to reach a compromise on provisions for future European anti-money laundering regulation.

The European Parliament adopted its position in March: it wants to bring clubs, agents and professional soccer leagues under the regime that applies to bankers, notaries or real estate agents. This would force these professionals to conduct thorough checks on the origin of the financial flows they have to work with and to report any suspicions to the authorities.

The commission supports the idea of increased regulation

rating it as an effective method of preventing illegal activities "to infiltrate the soccer industry and abuse clubs and players to generate and launder the proceeds of criminal activity," according to a consultation note obtained from Le Monde. This regulation would also be a way to "send a clear message" to a sector where "offshore payments" and "dark investments" are commonplace, not to mention the influence of international criminal organizations.

The Council of the European Union

, which represents the interests of 27 states, has shown more resistance. Several European capitals are sensitive to protests from soccer figures who fear that more complicated procedures will become unprofitable compared to their intra-European rivals. Clubs are also worried about the possibility of missing out on deals at the end of the transfer window, pointing out that there will be insufficient time to carry out the necessary checks on the provenance of the finances used for player transfers.