The Football Association have charged Chelsea with breaking rules around transfers as regarding the payment of agents.
The FA said in a statement: “The Football Association has today charged Chelsea FC with breaches of Regulations J1 and C2 of The FA Football Agents Regulations, Regulations A2 and A3 of The FA Regulations on Working with Intermediaries, and Regulations A1 and B3 of The FA Third Party Investment in Players Regulations. In total, 74 charges have been brought against Chelsea FC. ..Continue Reading
“The conduct that is the subject of the charges ranges from 2009 to 2022 and primarily relates to events which occurred between the 2010/11 to 2015/16 playing seasons. Chelsea FC has until 19 September 2025 to respond.”
Despite previously self-reporting some payments from the Roman Abramovich era, Chelsea could be fined or issued with a points deduction by Premier League if such payments were not registered as part of their original annual financial reporting.
Chelsea said in a statement: “Chelsea FC is pleased to confirm that its engagement with The FA concerning matters that were self-reported by the club is now reaching a conclusion.
“The club’s ownership group completed its purchase of the club on 30 May 2022. During a thorough due diligence process prior to completion of the purchase, the ownership group became aware of potentially incomplete financial reporting concerning historical transactions and other potential breaches of FA rules.
“Immediately upon the completion of the purchase, the club self-reported these matters to all relevant regulators, including The FA.
“The club has demonstrated unprecedented transparency during this process, including by giving comprehensive access to the club’s files and historical data. We will continue working collaboratively with The FA to conclude this matter as swiftly as possible.
“We wish to place on record our gratitude to The FA for their engagement with the club on this complex case, the focus of which has been on matters that took place over a decade ago.”
Roman Abramovich acquired Chelsea in 2003 for £140 million, ushering in a golden era that saw the club win five Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies.
His ownership came to an end in May 2022 when he was compelled to sell the club to a group led by Todd Boehly, following sanctions imposed by the UK government in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Chelsea had previously been penalized by UEFA with an £8.6 million fine for submitting incomplete financial records spanning from 2012 to 2019.
In 2023, leaked documents surfaced suggesting that the club had allegedly used offshore entities connected to Abramovich to facilitate payments totaling tens of millions of pounds over a decade. Additional claims pointed to a series of undisclosed transactions that may have violated financial fair play regulations and standard accounting practices.
