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Chelsea Football Club has been charged with a series of alleged breaches of agent regulations during the tenure of former owner Roman Abramovich, presenting a fresh problem for its US owners.
The English Football Association on Thursday charged Chelsea with 74 regulatory breaches pertaining to the interaction of clubs and agents, the intermediaries who play a vital role in the multibillion-pound market for buying and selling players.
The alleged breaches occurred between 2009 and 2022, a period during which Chelsea won three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and two Uefa Champions Leagues. The charges primarily related to the period between the 2010/11 and 2015/16 seasons, the FA said.
Chelsea’s success was financed by Abramovich, a Russian tycoon who bought the west London club for about £140mn in 2003 and bankrolled lavish spending on players that helped turn Chelsea into one of the world’s pre-eminent club sides.
Abramovich was forced to sell Chelsea in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, owing to his close ties to the Kremlin. He was subsequently placed under sanctions by the UK government.
Private equity firm Clearlake Capital and financier Todd Boehly bought the club for £2.5bn in an accelerated sale process. Under the new owners, Chelsea has continued to be a major force in the transfer market.
The club has spent €1.7bn on signing players since the takeover — more than any other club in the world, according to football data website Transfermarkt. It has raised €921mn from selling players over the same period.
On Thursday, Chelsea said its new owners discovered the issues during its purchase of the club, including “potentially incomplete financial reporting concerning historical transactions and other potential breaches of FA rules”.
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The charges will be laid out before an independent commission. The sanctions at the FA’s disposal include financial and potential sporting penalties, such as fines, points deductions or transfer bans. Chelsea’s decision to proactively report the issues is likely to be taken into account as a mitigating factor.
“Immediately upon the completion of the purchase, the club self-reported these matters to all relevant regulators, including the FA,” Chelsea said, adding that it provided “comprehensive access” to club files.
“We will continue working collaboratively with the FA to conclude this matter as swiftly as possible,” the club added.
Chelsea has been the subject of a separate Premier League investigation over potential breaches during Abramovich’s tenure.
In 2023, its US owners agreed to pay a €10mn fine to Uefa, European football’s governing body, due to “incomplete financial reporting” during the Abramovich era. The club was also fined €31mn in July this year for recently breaching European football’s financial rules.
Chelsea has until September 19 to respond to the FA charges.