Chelsea has been fined £10.75 million and prohibited from registering academy players for nine months after being found guilty of violating Premier League financial standards when owned by Roman Abramovich.
The Premier League revealed the fines on Monday, following an inquiry into the club’s previous financial practices between 2011 and 2018.
Chelsea self-reported the violations after the club’s current owners uncovered discrepancies in financial records relating to hidden payments made during Abramovich’s tenure.
However, the club averted a harsher penalty, with no immediate restriction on recruiting first-team players and no points deduction applied.
As part of the disciplinary process, Chelsea will be unable to register academy players for the next nine months.
The league noted that the inquiry revealed hidden payments made by third parties linked with the club to players, agents, and other individuals throughout the time period under consideration.
“As a result of the Premier League’s investigation, it was established that between 2011 and 2018, undisclosed payments by third parties associated with the club were made to players, unregistered agents and other third parties,” the league said in a statement.
“These payments were not disclosed to the football regulatory authorities at the time, including the Premier League.”
The statement added that the payments “were made for the benefit of Chelsea and should have been treated as having been made by the club.”
Despite considering a transfer ban for the first-team squad, the league instead imposed a two-year suspended punishment.
This means that Chelsea would only be barred from recruiting senior players if they committed other violations during that time frame.
The Premier League further stated that the club would not have violated its Profitability and Sustainability Rules if the payments had been properly accounted for in its prior financial disclosures.
Officials stated that Chelsea’s proactive self-reporting and cooperation during the investigation played a significant role in determining the final sanctions.
Several transfers conducted under Abramovich’s ownership were scrutinised during the probe, including those involving Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto’o, and Willian.
Chelsea’s current owners, led by the BlueCo group that took over the club in 2022, discovered the discrepancies following an internal assessment of the club’s financial records.
Despite the conclusion of the Premier League inquiry, The Football Association (FA) continues to investigate Chelsea for 74 alleged breaches of agency laws. There is currently no timetable for the investigation’s conclusion.
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