A number of ‘exasperated’ execs from clubs across the Premier League have demanded an explanation from competition bosses after Chelsea escaped a points deduction despite admitting making £47million in secret, illegal payments.
Daily Mail Sport understands that stunned senior figures from a host of top-flight sides have been in touch with chief executive Richard Masters and chair Alison Brittain to ask them how the west London side, who were fined £10.75m, got off so lightly.
Meanwhile, it is also understood that fans of Everton, who were docked 10 points (which was reduced to six) and plunged into relegation trouble in 2024 for breaches of spending rules, are planning a major protest at Saturday’s match, which just happens to be against Chelsea.
On Monday, it emerged that the Premier League would not be taking points off Chelsea and would instead be handing out a fine and a suspended transfer ban despite a host of serious offences involving deals for some of the club’s biggest players.
That sanction has triggered a furious response from fans of rivals, not least at Everton and Nottingham Forest and Championship side Leicester City – who have all been docked points in recent times.
And it would appear that such outrage is triggered in boardrooms across the competition. Sources have disclosed that ‘multiple’ calls have been made to the powers-that-be in the last 24 hours with emotions stretching from ‘exasperation to disbelief’.
Richard Masters and senior figures at the Premier League have been contacted by a host of top-flight sides after Chelsea escaped a points deduction
Chelsea were been hit with a £10.75million fine after breaking transfer rules during the Roman Abramovich era (pictured: Abramovich with John Terry in 2017)
Chelsea’s current US owners self-reported to the competition shortly after they took over the club after being made aware of a report that had found that between 2011 and 2018 the club had made at least 36 secret payments through offshore entities associated with former supremo Roman Abramovich.
The payments were made to players, agents and staff and included the transfers of Eden Hazard, Willian, Ramires, David Luiz, Andre Schurrle, Nemanja Matić and Samuel Eto’o. In the case of Hazard, who the club would later sell to Real Madrid for a fee thought to be north of £100m, Manchester United lost out on bringing the player to Old Trafford after they refused a demand from his agent for a secret payment worth more than £5m. During the period Chelsea – powered by many of the above players – won two Premier League titles, two FA Cups, a Champions League and a Europa League.
However, despite the above at no point in the sanction agreement, as the football finance expert Stefan Borson noted, is there any mention of ‘sporting advantage’. Instead, the Premier League praised the club for its co-operation and ruled that had the payments been declared then it would still not have breached its Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Instead of a deduction, Chelsea were handed a one-year transfer ban, suspended for a year, and hit with a fine viewed by many as paltry.
Keiran Maguire, another respected football finance expert and university professor, pointed out that in the Everton punishment the Premier League had noted: ‘A financial penalty for a club that enjoys the support of a wealthy owner is not a sufficient penalty’ and that ‘the requirements of deterrence, vindication of compliant clubs, and the protection of the integrity of the sport demand a sporting sanction in the form of a points deduction’.
Maguire also pointed out that the money to pay the fine will come from the £150m held back from their payment to Abramovich. ‘If I was an Everton or Forest fan I would not be happy with this outcome,’ he added.
Clubs will meet on Thursday at the plush Churchill Hotel in Portman Square, London for their regular shareholders summit. However, insiders have disclosed that it is unlikely that the matter will be raised in a public forum.
Everton’s fans held thousands of placards with the word ‘corrupt’ on them after they were originally hit with a 10-point deduction in 2023, with many marching to Goodison Park in protest.
It is understood that Everton fans are planning a protest before, during and after their game against Chelsea at the weekend
Similar scenes are expected at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday for the 5.30pm kick-off, with protests likely before, during and after the match, which is being televised.
Chelsea were also banned from signing academy players from the Premier League or EFL for nine months thanks to separate breaches of the Premier League’s youth development rules ‘committed by a former senior employee’ between 2019 and 2022. Those breaches were also self-reported.
The Premier League has been contacted for comment.
