Chelsea fined £10.75m, hit with suspended one-year transfer ban

2026-03-16 - 15:48

By Enitan Abdultawab Chelsea have been fined £10.75 million by the Premier League and handed a one-year transfer ban that will remain suspended for two years following an investigation into undisclosed payments linked to player transfers during the club’s previous ownership. Roman Abramovich, a Russian businessman who owns the London club, has been said to have made covert payments between 2011 and 2018 that are the subject of the sanctions. During the due diligence procedure that preceding Chelsea’s current American ownership group’s purchase in 2022, the financial problems became apparent. The Premier League claimed that the new owners’ decision to report the transactions to football authorities after learning about them affected the harshness of the penalty. When determining the fines, the league highlighted Chelsea’s “proactive self-reporting” and “exceptional co-operation” throughout the investigation. In addition to the financial sanction and suspended transfer ban, the club has also been given a nine-month ban on registering academy players, which takes effect immediately. The restriction relates to issues connected with the registration of youth players between 2019 and 2022. The Football Association, the Premier League, and UEFA require clubs to submit accurate and comprehensive financial disclosures annually, and investigators found multiple seven-figure payments to offshore companies related to player transfers that were not included in financial accounts submitted to football authorities at the time. Commenting on the decision, Chelsea said they “accept the terms of the settlement in full” and welcomed recognition from the league regarding the club’s cooperation throughout the investigation. The club’s statement in response read: “Chelsea Football Club is pleased to confirm that the club has reached a settlement with the Premier League in relation to historical regulatory matters that were self-reported by the club in 2022. “As previously announced, the club voluntarily and proactively disclosed to all applicable regulators potential historical rule breaches, including incomplete financial reporting that took place over a decade ago. “During an extensive Premier League investigation, the club proactively disclosed many thousands of documents. Also, when requests for information were made by the Premier League, the club promptly provided comprehensive responses and facilitated all lines of inquiry to support a complex and extremely thorough process”, it added. Some of the deals examined in the investigation are believed to involve transfers linked to players such as Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto’o and Andreas Christensen.