ACCRINGTON Stanley may have to demonstrate an ability to break even in order to avoid sanctions in future seasons after the Football League yesterday announced its intention to adopt a version of UEFA’s new Financial Fair Play regulations.

Stanley have required cash from Ilyas Khan to bail them out of financial problems in each of the last two seasons and have often posted a loss in their annual accounts – losing £284,557 in their last published figures, dating back to 2008/09.

But the Football League have moved to tighten financial restrictions on clubs after it was decided in principle at this week’s annual meeting in Cyprus to copy UEFA’s plan to prevent clubs overspending.

The new UEFA regulations ban clubs from Europe if they post a loss of more than five million Euros – a loss that must be covered by club benefactors.

A failure by Football League clubs to meet a scaled-down version of that rule is likely to be met by sanctions.

Reds chief executive Rob Heys has been in Cyprus for this week’s meeting and League Two have decided to adopt the Financial Fair Play regulations from next season, as well as reducing the league’s salary cap from 60 per cent to 55 per cent of turnover. The rule changes could also bring benefits to Stanley, though, by levelling the financial playing field in League Two.