Chelsea have been given eight days to respond after being accused of breaking rules around the payment of agents for transfers and third-party ownership by the Football Association
Stamford Bridge
Chelsea have to respond to the FA charges
(
Image: Getty Images)
News
The Football Association have charged Chelsea with breaking rules around transfers regarding the payment of agents.
The FA said in a statement: "The Football Association has today charged Chelsea FC with breaches of Regulations J1 and C2 of The FA Football Agents Regulations, Regulations A2 and A3 of The FA Regulations on Working with Intermediaries, and Regulations A1 and B3 of The FA Third Party Investment in Players Regulations. In total, 74 charges have been brought against Chelsea FC.
"The conduct that is the subject of the charges ranges from 2009 to 2022 and primarily relates to events which occurred between the 2010/11 to 2015/16 playing seasons. Chelsea FC has until 19 September 2025 to respond."
Despite previously self-reporting some payments from the Roman Abramovich era, Chelsea could be fined or issued with a points deduction by the Premier League if such payments were not registered as part of the club’s original annual financial reporting.
[
Fulham fans issue perfect response after Premier League confirm VAR howler](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/fulham-fans-premier-league-var-35885370)
Chelsea are yet to respond publicly to the FA charges, but have previously addressed similar issues by pointing out that they concern the era when Abramovich was the owner.
Abramovich bought Chelsea for £140million in 2003 and oversaw a period of success which included five Premier League trophies and two Champions League titles before being forced to sell the club to a consortium led by Todd Boehly in May 2022 after being sanctioned by the UK government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a statement in November 2023, Chelsea said: “These allegations pre-date the club’s current ownership. They concern entities that were allegedly controlled by the club’s former owner and do not relate to any individual who is presently at the club.
Chelsea's former owner Roman Abramovich brought a period of success to Stamford Bridge
Chelsea's former owner Roman Abramovich brought a period of success to Stamford Bridge
(
Image:
Getty)
“Chelsea FC’s ownership group completed its purchase of the club on May 30, 2022. During a thorough due diligence process prior to completion of the purchase, the ownership group became aware of potentially incomplete financial reporting concerning historical transactions during the club’s previous ownership. Immediately following the completion of the purchase, the club proactively self-reported these matters to all applicable football regulators.
“In accordance with the club’s ownership group’s core principles of full compliance and transparency the club has proactively assisted the applicable regulators with their investigations and will continue to do so.”
Chelsea were previously fined £8.6m by UEFA for submitting “incomplete financial information” between 2012 and 2019.
Leaked documents in 2023 revealed that Chelsea were alleged to have used offshore accounts linked to Abramovich to make payments worth tens of millions of pounds over a 10-year period. They were also alleged to have made a string of other secret payments which could have breached financial fair play and accounting rules.
and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our
Sky Sports deal
Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package