English FA Fines, Bans Chelsea Over Financial Rule Breaches

The English Football Association has fined Chelsea FC £10.75 million and handed them a suspended transfer ban after breaching financial regulations during the ownership era of Roman Abramovich.

The sanctions follow a lengthy probe by the Premier League into undisclosed payments linked to player transfers between 2011 and 2018.

League officials confirmed the club also received a nine-month academy transfer ban. In addition, a one-year first-team transfer ban has been imposed but suspended for two years.

Investigators examined several payments made to offshore companies connected to transfers. At least six of those transactions were flagged as suspicious during the investigation.

The seven-figure payments were not included in financial documents submitted by the club to football authorities at the time.

Transfers believed to be part of the probe include deals involving Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto’o and Andreas Christensen.

The irregularities surfaced during the due diligence process when a consortium led by Todd Boehly completed the takeover of the London club in 2022.

The new ownership alerted the Premier League, the Football Association and UEFA after reviewing historic financial records.

Football clubs competing in England and Europe must submit accurate financial reports to governing bodies each year. Those records form the basis for compliance checks linked to financial fair play and other regulatory frameworks.

UEFA previously fined Chelsea £8.64 million in July 2023 after identifying incomplete financial reporting tied to the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

While UEFA’s five-year statute of limitations restricted how far its investigation could go, the Premier League has no such limit, allowing officials to review transactions dating back more than a decade.