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Chelsea have a major headache on their hands having been charged for 74 breaches of Football Association rules. FA chiefs released a statement on Thursday confirming that the charges had been levelled at the Blues.
If found guilty, the Blues could potentially be hit with a number of punishments which could include - but not limited to - points deductions, a transfer ban or even a considerable fine. And given the progress that the West London side have made over the past few seasons under Enzo Maresca, it was the last thing that they needed.
But what do the charges actually mean? And when could Chelsea find out their potential punishment? football.london explains…
FA confirm charges
The FA confirmed the charges on Thursday morning in a short statement. It read: “The Football Association has today charged Chelsea FC with breaches of Regulations J1 and C2 of The FA Football Agents Regulations, Regulations A2 and A3 of The FA Regulations on Working with Intermediaries, and Regulations A1 and B3 of The FA Third Party Investment in Players Regulations.
“In total, 74 charges have been brought against Chelsea FC. The conduct that is the subject of the charges ranges from 2009 to 2022 and primarily relates to events which occurred between the 2010/11 to 2015/16 playing seasons. Chelsea FC has until 19 September 2025 to respond.”
The FA have yet to confirm specifically which transactions, players or agents are at the heart of the allegations. The Times however report that payments related to the signings of Eden Hazard, Willian and Samuel Eto'o were investigated.
Chelsea respond
Just moments after the FA’s announcement, Chelsea released a statement of their own. And within it, they claimed that the allegations related to a time before BlueCo had completed their takeover of the club from Roman Abramovich - but had reported themselves to the FA in any case.
The statement read: “Chelsea FC is pleased to confirm that its engagement with The FA concerning matters that were self-reported by the club is now reaching a conclusion.
“The Club’s ownership group completed its purchase of the club on 30 May 2022. During a thorough due diligence process prior to completion of the purchase, the ownership group became aware of potentially incomplete financial reporting concerning historical transactions and other potential breaches of FA rules. Immediately upon the completion of the purchase, the Club self-reported these matters to all relevant regulators, including The FA.
“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.”
What now?
It’s now down to how Chelsea respond to the charges levied against them. Having self-reported, it would be difficult to envisage a situation in where they appeal the decision - potentially negating the need for an independent commission usually seen in PSR cases.
And should that be the case, it would then be down to the FA commission to decude any potential punishment that they receive. At this stage, it is unclear how severe the charges are and thus difficult to suggest a potential punishment.
But as per Mail Online, a wide array of sanctions are available that includes a points deduction, transfer ban and a fine.
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