Experts believe club would be lucky to escape with fine and suspended transfer ban but further penalties may follow
The Premier League’s judgment against Chelsea for breaking football’s rules – during an eight-year trophy spree under Roman Abramovich – concludes that the club engaged in “deception and concealment”.
The breaches, more than 30 of them, relate to at least £47m in off-book payments linked to landmark deals for star players, including Eden Hazard, Willian, David Luiz and Nemanja Matic.
Many of these secret transactions, routed through Abramovich’s network of offshore companies, were revealed in an investigation published by the Guardian and international partners in 2023.
Despite the apparent severity of the transgressions, the punishment amounts to a relatively mild £10.75m fine and a suspended transfer embargo that may never be imposed.
