Chelsea secretly hit with SIX POINT deduction – but win appeal to have it overturned

CHELSEA have dodged a points deduction thanks to a secret FA appeal – but have been hit with a £10million FA fine for dodgy agent deals under Roman Abramovich. The Blues have also been handed a suspended transfer ban and the FA are still investigating individuals involved, but have avoided a sporting sanction from the FA, Premier League and Uefa. Chelsea were handed a points deduction by the FA in relation to dodgy payments under Roman Abramovich Credit: Getty But the club have already managed to escape the measure after an appeal behind closed doors Credit: Getty Chelsea were charged with 74 breaches of FA rules relating to agent payments and third party transactions in September last year. The charges related to deals between 2009-2022 under former owner, Roman Abramovich with moves for Eden Hazard, Willian, Ramires, David Luiz and Samuel Eto’o all implicated. Sign up for the Chelsea newsletter Thank you! Chelsea admitted guilt on all 74 breaches, which totalled to £47m in illegal payments. After Chelsea beat Manchester United to the signing of Hazard, Sir Alex Ferguson claimed the Blues paid an agent fee of £6m. None of the players involved are accused of any wrongdoing. In a statement, Chelsea said: “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. Most read in Sport SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET UP TO £100 BONUS Todd Boehly and BlueCo self-reported the irregularities after their arrival at the club Credit: Getty “We are grateful to UEFA, the Premier League and The FA for their engagement with the club throughout these processes.” Chelsea’s current owners, Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly, self-reported the club to the FA, Uefa and the Premier League following their 2022 takeover having discovered “incomplete financial reporting” during an audit of the club. BlueCo, Chelsea’s ownership group, held back £150m of their £4.25bn purchase of the club as a buffer against financial penalties as a result. In 2023 the club agreed an £8m settlement with Uefa over the rules breaches and were fined £10.75m by the Premier League earlier this year – a sanction which also came with a nine-month academy transfer ban and a suspended senior team transfer ban. An FA statement read: “A financial sanction of £10 million and a suspended two-window registration ban have been imposed on Chelsea FC for breaches of The Football Association [The FA] Football Agent Regulations, Regulations on Working with Intermediaries and Third Party Investment in Players Regulations. “The FA charged Chelsea FC with 74 breaches of FA Rule E1.2 after its current ownership self-reported misconduct upon its purchase of the club. The FA is continuing to investigate individual misconduct arising out of this case. “Chelsea FC admitted to the 74 breaches of FA Rule E1.2 prior to a hearing and an independent Regulatory Commission imposed a six-point deduction, which was to be suspended until 30 June 2027, and a £10 million fine. “The club appealed against the suspended points deduction and an independent Appeal Board allowed the appeal and set aside this sanction following a further hearing. In its place, the Appeal Board imposed a registration ban for two complete and consecutive transfer windows which is suspended until 30 June 2027. The transparency of Boehly and co-owner Behdad Eghbali was noted by the FA Credit: PA “The £10 million fine imposed by the Regulatory Commission was not subject to appeal and the full amount will be invested into grassroots football. “The Regulatory Commission and Appeal Board’s written reasons for their decisions can be found below. “ 1 comment1