The Foxes were previously given a points penalty but Chelsea were fined £10.75m and given a suspended one-year transfer ban
Jamie Gardner Press Association Chief Sports Reporter
11:33, 18 Mar 2026
Nick De Marco
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Nick De Marco(Image: No credit)
A lack of consistency in how rule breaches are sanctioned risks undermining the integrity of football, a top sports lawyer has said.
Chelsea escaped a points deduction this week after admitting to breaching Premier League rules in relation to £47.5million of undisclosed payments made under former owner Roman Abramovich.
Points penalties had previously been imposed on Everton, Leicester City and Nottingham Forest for breaches of financial rules, but Chelsea were fined £10.75m and given a suspended one-year transfer ban as part of a sanction agreement with the Premier League.
The Premier League said the sanctions reflected the fact that Chelsea's new owners had self-reported the information which sparked its investigation and showed "exceptional co-operation" throughout.
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Nick De Marco KC, who represented Leicester and Forest in their legal cases, did not comment directly on the Chelsea sanction but said it was vital a consistent approach was adopted by the football authorities.
He wrote on X: "When it is argued, in various football disputes, that points deductions must be imposed even for inadvertent breaches, in order to vindicate compliant clubs, one has to wonder whether that reflects a genuine commitment to consistent strict enforcement in all cases, or is simply a position adopted for the purposes of a particular case.
"Consistency is very important in sport – the lack of it can undermine public confidence in the integrity of the whole game.
"I do not comment on any one individual case, I just hope that those involved in the decision-making processes can see the merit in treating each case according to its particular circumstances rather than being inflexible in some, but very flexible in others.
"That, I am sure, would help restore the confidence in sports arbitration we all wish for."
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Simon Leaf, a partner at Three Points Law and the co-author of the chapter on financial regulation in the 'Football and the Law' textbook, told the Press Association on Tuesday that the agreement Chelsea reached was "the deal of the decade".
The agreement referenced the fact that the payments – which in part were to agents to facilitate transfer deals – would not have caused a breach of the league's profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).
However, Leaf said it was "difficult to dispute" that Chelsea had gained a sporting advantage through making these payments, which helped seal deals for star names such as Eden Hazard, Willian and Ramires, and said it was a "sleight of hand" to only consider the payments from a PSR perspective.
Clubs have privately expressed surprise at the decision when contacted by PA, and Mail Sport has reported that senior executives from a number of Premier League clubs have contacted the league's chief executive Richard Masters demanding an explanation for the Chelsea decision.
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Clubs are due to gather for one of their regular shareholders' meetings in central London on Thursday, and it remains to be seen whether any executives will raise the issue there.