Chelsea’s have been handed a record £10.75m fine and a suspended one-year transfer ban after being found guilty of making £47million in undisclosed payments to players and agents between 2011 and 2018
Premier League clubs are reportedly ‘stunned’ after Chelsea escaped a points deduction despite being found guilty of making £47million in secret payments related to previous transfers.
It was revealed on Monday that the Blues had been slapped with a record £10.75m fine by the Premier League plus a one-year transfer embargo, which has been suspended for two years. Chelsea have also been hit with an immediate nine-month ban on registering academy players.
The Blues were given the eight-figure penalty – which is nearly double the £5.5m levied on West Ham back in 2007 – after being found guilty of making undisclosed payments by third parties linked to the club, to players, unregistered agents and other third parties between 2011 and 2018.
However, it’s reported that their incensed Premier League rivals are far from satisfied with the punishment that Chelsea have been dealt.
It’s alleged that some club executives have even contacted Premier League chief executive, Richard Masters, and chair, Alison Brittain, to query why Chelsea were treated so leniently.
BlueCo, who purchased Chelsea back in 2022, self-reported potential breaches to the Premier League, with a statement noting that the club hierarchy’s “proactive self-reporting” had been taken into account when deciding on sanctions. Regardless, the failure to deduct points has triggered fury among supporters of rival clubs, particularly given the success Chelsea enjoyed under their former owner, Roman Abramovich, during the period in question.
The Blues claimed two Premier League titles, two FA Cups, the Champions League, the Europa League and the League Cup between 2011 and 2018.
Chelsea responded to the sanctions with a club statement, saying they were “pleased to confirm that the club has reached a settlement with the Premier League in relation to historical regulatory matters.”
They added: “From the outset of this process, the club has treated these matters with the utmost seriousness, providing full cooperation to all relevant regulators. The club welcomes the recognition from the Premier League of its ‘exceptional cooperation’ and that ‘without those voluntary disclosures and the act of self-reporting, a number of the Premier League rule breaches may never have come to the attention of the League’.”
“The club accepts the terms of the settlement in full, details of which have been published on the Premier League website. For clarity, the nine-month restriction on registering Academy players applies immediately, but only to Academy players who have previously been registered with another League or EFL club in the preceding 18 months.
“It does not apply to current Chelsea players, international players or players who are applying for their first registration at Under 9. We are pleased that the matter is now concluded.”