Breaking: Chelsea fined £10.75m, handed suspended transfer ban

Chelsea have been fined £10.75m and handed a one-year transfer ban suspended for two years after breaching Premier League financial rules involving undisclosed payments.

The Premier League said the sanctions followed an investigation into secret payments made by the club to agents and other individuals between 2011 and 2018, during the ownership of Roman Abramovich.

The league added that the club’s “proactive self-reporting” and “exceptional co-operation” during the investigation were taken into account when determining the punishment.

The transactions surfaced during the due diligence process carried out when a consortium of American investors purchased the club in 2022.

Chelsea subsequently reported the irregularities to the Premier League, the Football Association (FA) and UEFA.

In addition to the financial penalty and suspended transfer ban, Chelsea have been handed a nine-month academy transfer ban with immediate effect over issues relating to the registration of youth players between 2019 and 2022.

Chelsea said they “accept the terms of the settlement in full” and welcomed the league’s recognition of their cooperation during the investigation.

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Investigators identified at least six suspect payments made to offshore companies connected to player transfers.

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

The transfers examined are believed to include deals involving Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto’o, and Andreas Christensen.

Under football regulations, clubs must submit accurate financial records to the FA and the Premier League each year.

Similar disclosure rules apply to UEFA competitions.

UEFA had previously fined Chelsea £8.64m in July 2023 for incomplete financial reporting linked to the club’s previous ownership in 2018 and 2019.

Unlike UEFA, whose five-year statute of limitations restricts investigations to breaches since the 2017/18 season, the Premier League has no statute of limitations for financial rule violations.

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