Chelsea given £10m fine but avoid points deduction

Chelsea have been fined £10m and given a suspended two-window transfer ban by the Football Association following breaches related to payments made to agents.

An independent appeal board set aside a suspended six-point deduction previously handed to the club, replacing it with the suspended registration ban.

The current ownership, led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, self-reported 74 breaches of FA rules after completing their takeover in 2022.

Chelsea admitted to making £47m in secret payments to third parties and unregistered agents for transfers conducted between 2011 and 2018.

The FA confirmed it is maintaining an ongoing investigation into individual misconduct linked to the findings.

Money raised from the £10m fine will be directed into grassroots football initiatives.

It follows action taken in March, when Chelsea were issued a £750,000 fine and an immediate nine-month academy transfer ban over youth player registrations between 2019 and 2022.

The infractions took place under former owner Roman Abramovich, who was sanctioned by the UK government in March 2022 over suspected ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin — allegations Abramovich denied.

Abramovich was granted a special government licence allowing the sale of the club on the condition that he received no financial proceeds from the transaction.

A statement issued by Chelsea in response to the sanction read: “Chelsea Football Club is pleased to confirm that a final decision has been reached by the FA’s judicial bodies in relation to historical regulatory matters that were self-reported by the club.

“In 2022, the club self-reported potential historical rule breaches to all applicable regulators. Following that report, it has worked openly and transparently with all regulators, including voluntarily and proactively disclosing many thousands of documents.

“As previously announced, settlement agreements have been entered into with Uefa and the Premier League concerning the same self-reported regulatory matters and topics that have been addressed before.

“The club is pleased to confirm that, now the FA process has concluded, this brings all regulatory proceedings against the club to a close.

“We are grateful to Uefa, the Premier League and the FA for their engagement with the club throughout these processes.”