Chelsea handed £10m fine and suspended transfer ban after admitting FA rule breaches dating back to Roman Abramovich era

Chelsea have been fined £10m and given a suspended two-window transfer ban by an independent appeal board after admitting breaches of Football Association agent rules, the FA has announced.

An earlier independent commission had imposed a suspended six-point deduction, which was set aside and the suspended transfer ban imposed in its place.

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The FA confirmed the imposition of sanctions on the west London club on Friday, who admitted to a total of 74 breaches of FA regulations covering agents, working with intermediaries and third-party investment in players.

The club's new owners self-reported the breaches to the football authorities in May 2022, when they were in the process of buying the club from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

The transfers which raised potential concerns during the takeover process are believed to include deals for players such as Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto'o and Willian. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of those players.

The six-point deduction, suspended until June 30 2027, was imposed by the independent commission which initially heard the case but the club appealed against that. An appeal board instead replaced the points penalty with the suspended two-window transfer ban.

The £10m fine imposed by the Regulatory Commission was not subject to appeal and the full amount will be invested into grassroots football.

Chelsea have previously entered sanction settlements in regard to this matter with the Premier League and UEFA.

A club statement read: "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.

"We are grateful to UEFA, the Premier League and The FA for their engagement with the club throughout these processes."

Earlier this year, Chelsea were handed the Premier League's biggest fine along with a one-year transfer ban, suspended for two years. The total fine of £10.75m related to secret payments made to agents worth £47.5m between 2011 and 2018, when Roman Abramovich was owner, and breaches of rules around registering youth players.

Clubs must provide the FA and Premier League accurate financial information every year. The same applies for UEFA and clubs playing in their competitions.

Chelsea were fined £8.64m (€10m) by UEFA in July 2023 for incomplete financial reporting by the previous owners in 2018 and 2019. At least six suspect payments to offshore companies connected to transfers were identified.

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