Chelsea FC have responded moments after the Football Association (FA) confirmed that it is charging the London club with 74 alleged rule breaches related to payments to agents between 2009 and 2022.
“Chelsea FC is pleased to confirm that its engagement with The FA concerning matters that were self-reported by the club is now reaching a conclusion,” the club wrote on its website on Thursday, September 11.
The statement revealed that after a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital bought Chelsea from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovic in 2022, the new ownership became aware of the breaches after a thorough due diligence, and therefore self-reported.
“The Club’s ownership group completed its purchase of the club on 30 May 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 and other potential breaches of FA rules,” the club’s statement reads in part, adding: “Immediately upon the completion of the purchase, the Club self-reported these matters to all relevant regulators, including The FA.”
Reports acknowledge that Chelsea demonstrated unprecedented transparency during the whole process of investigations, including giving comprehensive access to the Club’s files and historical data.
“We will continue working collaboratively with The FA to conclude this matter as swiftly as possible. We wish to place on record our gratitude to The FA for their engagement with the Club on this complex case, the focus of which has been on matters that took place over a decade ago.”
The 74 charges
The charges, the FA says, primarily relates to events which occurred between the 2010-11 to 2015/16 playing seasons.
Chelsea now have until September 19, 2025 to respond to the charges.
Pundits argue that some of the available sanctions Chelsea may face include a fine, a transfer embargo and points deduction. The Blues’ “self-reporting and unprecedented” co-operation with the FA will be factored in.
BBC Sport, in October 2023, reported that the transfers of Samuel Eto’o and Willian Borges da Silva had plunged Chelsea into troubles of potential financial rule breaches. Eto’o and Willian moved to Chelsea under the ownership of Abramovic.
