Chelsea fined £10.75m and given suspended transfer ban over historical rule-breaking

Chelsea have been fined £10.75m by the Premier League and given a one-window transfer ban, suspended for two years, over historical breaches of regulations under the ownership of Roman Abramovich.

“The Premier League has concluded two separate disciplinary processes involving Chelsea Football Club, following the club voluntarily self-reporting potential historical breaches of rules,” the league said.

“Two sanction agreements have been ratified by an independent commission under which Chelsea FC has accepted fines totalling £10.75m for breaches of the Premier League’s rules relating to financial reporting, third-party investment and youth development.

“The club has been sanctioned by the Premier League with an immediate nine-month academy transfer ban and a suspended one-year first-team player transfer ban (suspended for two years).”

The league said its investigation had established that between 2011 and 2018 undisclosed payments were made by third parties associated with Chelsea to players, unregistered agents and other third parties.

“These payments were not disclosed to the football regulatory authorities at the time, including the Premier League,” the league said. “The payments were made for the benefit of Chelsea FC and should have been treated as having been made by the club. The club has also accepted, among other things, that the making of these payments, as well as the failure to disclose them to the league, constituted a breach of the requirement to act in good faith towards the league.”

Deals under the spotlight, highlighted in a 2023 investigation by the Guardian and international media partners, included the transfers of Eden ­Hazard, Willian and Samuel Eto’o.

The charges against Chelsea included ­breaking regulations that prevent clubs from making deals that allow third parties to “influence materially the club’s policies”.

The commission had the power to levy a sporting sanction, ­including a points deduction, but Chelsea had expected an outcome similar to that struck with Uefa in 2023 over ­“incomplete financial reporting”, which resulted in a €10m fine.

Chelsea said: “From the outset of this process, the club has treated these matters with the utmost seriousness, providing full cooperation to all relevant regulators. The club welcomes the recognition from the Premier League of its ‘exceptional cooperation’ and that ‘without those voluntary disclosures and the act of self-reporting, a number of the Premier League rule breaches may never have come to the attention of the league’.”