Chelsea could face three potential punishments if found guilty of the most serious of their 74 charges over breaches of agent regulations, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.
The charges, revealed on Thursday morning, relate to the period that Roman Abramovich was the owner of the Blues before he sold the club to Clearlake Capital in May 2022.
Chelsea were extremely successful under the Russian with Abramovich transforming the Blues into a side who consistently won major trophies under the best coaches in world football.
During the Russian’s time at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea won five Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, five FA Cups, two Europa Leagues and three League Cups.
But that success could now come at a cost to modern-day Chelsea with the FA hitting the Premier League club with 74 charges over breaches of agent regulations.
A statement from the FA on Thursday read: ‘The Football Association has today charged Chelsea FC with breaches of regulations J1 and C2 of the FA Football Agent regulations, regulations A2 and A3 of the FA Regulations on Working with Intermediaries and regulations A1 and B3 of the FA Third Party Investment in Players Regulations.
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‘In total, 74 charges have been brought against Chelsea FC.
‘Conduct that is the subject of the charges ranges from 2009 to 2022 and finality relates to events which occurred between the 2010-11 the 2015-16 playing seasons.
‘Chelsea FC has until 19 September 2025 to respond.’
The Blues almost immediately released a statement thanking the FA ‘for their engagement’ on the matter, Chelsea’s statement read: ‘Chelsea FC is pleased to confirm that its engagement with The FA concerning matters that were self-reported by the club is now reaching a conclusion.
‘The Club’s ownership group completed its purchase of the club on 30 May 2022. During a thorough due diligence process prior to completion of the purchase, the ownership group became aware of potentially incomplete financial reporting concerning historical transactions and other potential breaches of FA rules. Immediately upon the completion of the purchase, the Club self-reported these matters to all relevant regulators, including The FA.
‘The Club has demonstrated unprecedented transparency during this process, including by giving comprehensive access to the Club’s files and historical data. We will continue working collaboratively with The FA to conclude this matter as swiftly as possible. We wish to place on record our gratitude to The FA for their engagement with the Club on this complex case, the focus of which has been on matters that took place over a decade ago.’
And now former CBS Sports journalist Jacobs has revealed that Chelsea could receive three potential punishments if found guilty of their charges, as the reporter gave more details on the case.
Jacobs wrote on X: ‘More on Chelsea’s 74 charges for breaches of agent regulations under Roman Abramovich.
‘- These are historical charges, self-reported by Chelsea during due diligence before Clearlake-Boehly officially took charge.
‘- Majority of the breaches are between 2010 and 2016.
‘- Chelsea have opened up their books to The FA.
‘- The Premier League are also running a concurrent investigation.
‘- Issue predominantly relates to agent payments not being correctly reported on the books.
‘- Chelsea have hired one of the big accountancy firms to analyse the breaches. They do not believe there has been any sporting advantage, and will argue no sporting sanction is necessary.
‘- Punishments can range from a fine, to a settlement, to a sporting sanction. – Clearlake-Boehly very transparent in alerting relevant authorities to the breaches.’