Chelsea have been hit with a record ban of £10.75million, an academy transfer ban and a suspended first-team transfer ban by the Premier League over illicit payments to agents and other individuals.
The Premier League completed two separate disciplinary processes after the club voluntarily self-reported potential historical breaches of rules.
The charges were related to transfers made during Roman Abramovich’s ownership era at the club, which lasted between 2003 and 2022.
They are mainly focused on transfers carried out between the 2010-11 and 2015-16 seasons – including deals for major stars such as Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto’o and Willian.
Chelsea’s fine smashes the previous record set by West Ham, who were hit for 5.5m back in 2007 after breaching rules when signing Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.
The Blues said in a statement: ‘Chelsea Football Club is pleased to confirm that the club has reached a settlement with the Premier League in relation to historical regulatory matters that were self-reported by the club in 2022.
‘As previously announced, the club voluntarily and proactively disclosed to all applicable regulators potential historical rule breaches, including incomplete financial reporting that took place over a decade ago.
‘During an extensive Premier League investigation, the club proactively disclosed many thousands of documents. Also, when requests for information were made by the Premier League, the club promptly provided comprehensive responses and facilitated all lines of inquiry to support a complex and extremely thorough process.
‘Furthermore, during the investigation, additional evidence was provided to the club by a third party regarding potential breaches of Premier League rules committed by a former employee in a small number of historical academy transactions. This information was immediately and proactively self-reported to the Premier League.’
A Premier League statement today read: ‘The Premier League has concluded two separate disciplinary processes involving Chelsea Football Club, following the Club voluntarily self-reporting potential historical breaches of rules.
‘Two sanction agreements have been ratified by an independent Commission under which Chelsea FC has accepted fines totalling £10.75 million 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).’
More to follow.
