Chelsea face 74 charges over agent payments

Chelsea have been charged by the Football Association with 74 alleged rule breaches related to payments to agents between 2009 and 2022.

The charges are primarily focused on events which occurred between the 2010-11 to 2015-16 seasons.

The alleged rule breaches concern agents, intermediaries and third-party investments in players.

Chelsea have until 19 September to respond.

There are a wide range of options available to sanction Chelsea, including a fine, transfer embargo and points deduction. However, the Blues’ high level of co-operation will be factored in.

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich was in control of the club from 2003 to 2022. He sold Chelsea to a consortium led by American investor Todd Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital.

“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,” Chelsea said.

“Immediately upon the completion of the purchase, the club self-reported these matters to all relevant regulators, including the FA.

In July 2023, Chelsea were fined £8.6m by Uefa for breaking Financial Fair Play rules as a result of “submitting incomplete financial information” between 2012 and 2019.

Those breaches were reported by the new Stamford Bridge ownership following the club’s sale in May 2022.

As reported by BBC Sport in October 2023, transfers involving Samuel Eto’o and Willian were part of a Premier League investigation into potential financial rule breaches by Chelsea.

Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK Government in March 2022 over alleged links to Russian president Vladimir Putin – something he has denied.

He was granted a special licence to sell Chelsea following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, providing he could prove he would not benefit from the sale.

The 58-year-old said funds from the sale would be donated via a foundation “for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine”, which would include those in Russia.

The £2.5bn in proceeds have been frozen in a UK bank account since the sale. Abramovich does not have access to the money but it still legally belongs to him.

In June, the Government threatened to sue Abramovich to make sure the money goes to Ukrainian humanitarian aid – rather than “all victims of the war in Ukraine” as Abramovich had said.

Two months before selling Chelsea in May 2022, Abramovich was said to have suffered from a suspected poisoning at peace talks on the Ukraine-Belarus border.