- The Premier League has concluded two separate disciplinary processes involving Chelsea Football Club, following the Club voluntarily self-reporting potential historical breaches of rules.
- Two sanction agreements have been ratified by an independent Commission under which Chelsea FC has accepted fines totalling £10.75million for breaches of the Premier League’s rules relating to Financial Reporting, Third Party Investment and Youth Development.
- The Club has been sanctioned by the Premier League with an immediate nine-month Academy Transfer ban and a suspended one-year first-team player transfer ban (suspended for two years) .
The Premier League has completed a disciplinary process with Chelsea FC in respect of historical breaches relating to Financial Reporting and Third- Party Investment. In 2022, Chelsea FC’s current owners voluntarily reported to the League that they had evidence of potential breaches of Premier League Rules.
As a result of the Premier League’s investigation, it was established that between 2011 and 2018, undisclosed payments by third parties associated with the club were made to players, unregistered agents and other third parties. These payments were not disclosed to the football regulatory authorities at the time, including the Premier League. The payments were made for the benefit of Chelsea FC and should have been treated as having been made by the club. The club has also accepted, among other things, that the making of these payments, as well as the failure to disclose them to the League, constituted a breach of the requirement to act in good faith towards the League.
The Premier League assessed a series of recalculations of the club’s historical financial submissions which took into account the payments made for the benefit of Chelsea FC. Importantly, having undertaken that assessment, the Premier League Board was satisfied that in no scenario would the club have breached the League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules during the relevant periods, had the relevant payments been properly included in the club’s historical financial submissions.
When considering the appropriate sanction, the Premier League Board noted that the club’s proactive self-reporting, admissions of breach and exceptional cooperation throughout the investigation acted as significant mitigating factors.
The Premier League and Chelsea FC have now entered into a sanction agreement under which the club accepts a £10million fine and a suspended one-year first team transfer ban (suspended for two years).
In addition, the League also investigated potential breaches of the Premier League’s Youth Development Rules, committed by a former senior employee, relating to the club’s registration of Academy players between 2019 and 2022. This followed a further voluntary report by the club in 2025.
As a result of this additional investigation, a separate sanction agreement has been entered into with Chelsea FC, under which the club has accepted an immediate nine-month ban from registering Academy players from Premier League and EFL clubs. The club will also pay a £750,000 fine.
All sanctions will take effect immediately with the club also paying the full costs of the League’s investigation and disciplinary processes.
In accordance with Premier League Rules, the sanction agreements with the club have been reviewed and approved by three members of the League’s independent Judicial Panel.
A separate FA disciplinary process involving the club’s alleged breaches of FA Regulations arising out of similar conduct remains ongoing. In 2022, Chelsea FC also reported to UEFA the historic breaches which resulted in the CFCB First Chamber entering into a settlement agreement with the club. Chelsea FC paid a financial contribution of €10million (£8.6million). Link
Notes
- Under Premier League Rules W.6.7 and W.16 to W.18, where the League considers a club to be in breach of the Rules it has the power to enter into a Sanction Agreement whereby the club admits the relevant breaches and accepts the appropriate sanction.
- Where the League and a club elect to enter into a Sanction Agreement, before it is finalised, the Sanction Agreement must be reviewed and ratified by a three-person panel appointed from the independent Judicial Panel by its independent chair, Sir Gary Hickinbottom.
- The role of the three-person panel is to consider the agreed sanction in light of the admitted breaches. This process acts as an alternative to contested proceedings before a Commission.
- Click here to read the Premier League sanction agreement relating to Chelsea FC’s breaches of the League’s Rules relating to Financial Reporting and Third Party Investment.
- Section 16: The Premier League was satisfied… “in no scenario would the club have exceeded the maximum allowable loss of £105million over the three-year assessment period in the rules.” As a result, there was no evidence to suggest that, had the payments been properly disclosed, it would have been in breach of the Profitability and Sustainability Rules.
- Section 17(b(v): “The voluntary and timely admission of breaches by the club, which have been provided in a comprehensive and forthright manner including through the provision of written statements of facts and breaches. Consistent with the position described above, many of the club’s admissions have been made against the club’s own interests in furtherance of its willingness to co-operate with the Investigation. If the League had been put to proof by the club before a Commission, it may have been difficult to establish, to the relevant standard, certain aspects of the Rule breaches now recorded in this Sanction Agreement. Some Rule breaches have therefore been established as direct result of the club’s own admissions.”
- Section 23: “But for that self-reporting and cooperation, the Board would have regarded as appropriate a ban from registering new players who would sign a professional contract with the club for two complete and consecutive registration periods from the date this Sanction Agreement became effective.”
- Section 24: “However, the proactive and voluntary self-reporting and the exceptional co-operation of the club, as described above, persuaded the Board that this ban should be suspended for a period of two years.”
- The financial sanction is the highest ever imposed by the Premier League. The previous record fine (£5.5m) was given to West Ham United in 2007.
- Click here to read the Premier League sanction agreement relating to Chelsea FC’s breaches of the League’s Youth Development Rules .
- Chelsea FC’s cooperation included for example, the proactive identification of potential rule breaches and disclosure of approximately 200,000 documents.
- The club accepted an immediate nine-month ban from registering Academy players. This will apply to academy players who have previously been registered with another League or EFL club in the preceding 18 months. It does not however apply to Chelsea’s current players, international players or players who are registering on professional terms. It also does not apply to players who are applying for their first registration at Under 9 or otherwise.
- The further voluntary report by the club in 2025, was made immediately after the club had received documents from a third-party (unrelated to the club) which evidenced potential breaches of the Rules.