London, Aug. 1 (V7N) – The English Football Association (FA) has fined Premier League club Chelsea £10 million for multiple regulatory breaches and imposed a two-transfer-window registration ban, which has been suspended until June 30, 2027.
The FA confirmed the sanctions in an official statement issued on Friday (July 31).
According to the governing body, an independent regulatory commission found all 74 charges brought against Chelsea to be proven.
The commission initially imposed a six-point deduction along with the financial penalty. However, following an appeal, the points deduction was overturned and replaced with a suspended transfer ban.
The case stems from an investigation launched in September last year, when the FA alleged that football agents, intermediaries and third-party investors had breached multiple rules relating to unethical investments in player contracts.
Investigators concluded that most of the irregularities occurred between 2009 and 2022, particularly during the 2010-11 to 2015-16 seasons when the club was owned by former Russian businessman Roman Abramovich.
Before the disciplinary hearing, Chelsea admitted to the 74 breaches. While the original ruling included both a fine and a suspended six-point deduction, the FA's Appeal Board later removed the points penalty and instead upheld the suspended transfer ban.
The FA said investigations into individuals linked to the alleged irregularities remain ongoing.
The matter came to light after Chelsea's ownership changed in 2022, when the BlueCo consortium acquired the club from Abramovich. According to the FA, the new owners voluntarily disclosed historical financial irregularities to the FA, the Premier League and UEFA after identifying them during internal reviews.
Chelsea welcomed the conclusion of the disciplinary process, saying in a statement that the club had fully cooperated with investigators from the outset and voluntarily provided thousands of documents to assist the inquiry.
The London club also noted that it had previously reached settlements with both UEFA and the Premier League regarding related historical financial matters.
END/SMA/AJ
