Chelsea expect financial rather than sporting penalty as they face 74 FA charges

Chelsea are expecting to receive a fine rather than a points deduction or transfer ban after their owners self-reported information which led to the Football Association charging the club with 74 alleged breaches of its rules.

The club are alleged to have breached the FA’s rules governing agents, and the investigation is believed to centre on alleged irregular payments made as part of transfer deals which brought Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto’o and Willian, among others, to Chelsea during Roman Abramovich’s tenure as owner. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of those players.

Chelsea’s current ownership, which includes businessmen Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, uncovered incomplete financial information as part of the due diligence they conducted as they sought to buy the club from Russian billionaire Abramovich in 2022.

They passed this information to UEFA, the Premier League and the FA once the takeover was complete. UEFA agreed a resolution with Chelsea to pay 10 million euros (£8.6m) in July 2023.

The PA news agency understands Chelsea are unlikely to dispute the FA charges and expect the matter to be concluded swiftly.

They expect any sanction imposed by an independent commission would be financial rather than a sporting penalty, such as a transfer embargo or points deduction, in light of what the club describe as their “unprecedented transparency” with the authorities.

The breaches are primarily understood be tax-related matters which the club have since settled with HMRC.

Independent accounting analysts are understood to have told Chelsea that even if the alleged irregular payments had been reported correctly at the appropriate times, they would not have affected the club’s compliance with the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).

The club said in a statement issued on Thursday they were “pleased to confirm that its engagement with the FA concerning matters that were self-reported by the club is now reaching a conclusion”.

The statement added: “The club has demonstrated unprecedented transparency during this process, including by 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.”

Abramovich was forced to cede ownership of Chelsea in 2022 after he was sanctioned by the British Government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A spokesperson for Abramovich has been contacted for comment.

The FA has given Chelsea until September 19 to respond to the charges, which span a period between 2009 and 2022 but primarily relate to events which occurred between the 2010-11 to 2015-16 playing seasons.

Among the FA regulations the club are alleged to have breached are J1 and C2 of the Football Agent Regulations.

J1 concerns the use of unauthorised agents, while C2 states: “A club, player or authorised agent must not so arrange matters as to conceal or misrepresent the reality and/or substance of any matters in relation to a transaction or contract negotiation.”