Chelsea: Abramovich-era breaches – club avoids the worst (official)

On Monday, the Premier League reached an agreement with Chelsea regarding breaches committed under former owner Roman Abramovich between 2012 and 2019. Thanks to its full cooperation, the London club has avoided very severe sanctions.

Upon taking charge of Chelsea in May 2023, new owner Todd Boehly and his team immediately identified a major problem on the horizon: they swiftly contacted UEFA and the Premier League to report “incomplete financial information” under the leadership of former owner Roman Abramovich between 2012 and 2019.

Following a lengthy disciplinary process, the Premier League and Chelsea officially announced a settlement on Monday.

Chelsea have avoided the worst

Unsurprisingly, the investigation conducted by the Premier League confirmed the suspicions: under the Russian’s leadership, the London club was found guilty of several financial breaches, notably “undeclared payments from third parties associated with the club had been made to players, unregistered agents and other third parties”. In light of this situation, the two parties have reached an agreement involving a fine estimated at €11.6 million and a one-year suspended transfer ban for Chelsea.

It should be noted that this is a two-year suspended ban: provided they do not commit any further financial breaches, the club – currently sixth in the table – will therefore avoid this transfer ban. At the same time, the club will be unable to strengthen its academy for nine months due to several breaches of youth development regulations between 2019 and 2022. And once again, this breach had been voluntarily reported to the governing body by the Blues’ new management.

Transparency made the difference

Let’s be clear: Chelsea has come through this well, avoiding an immediate transfer ban and sporting penalties such as a points deduction. Unsurprisingly, the club’s full cooperation was paramount. “The Premier League Board noted that the club’s voluntary disclosure, its admission of the breach and its exceptional cooperation throughout the investigation constituted significant mitigating circumstances,” the statement reads. A real relief for Chelsea.