Chelsea are close to finding out the outcome of 74 charges brought by the FA, including an alleged breach of agent rules self-reported by the current owner earlier this year.
Chelsea will learn the outcome of an FA disciplinary hearing into 74 charges brought against the club, including offenses relating to agents, intermediaries and third-party investments, revealed under Roman Abramovich. The Blues self-reported the situation to the governing body to assist with the findings.
This was made clear during BlueCo’s acquisition of the club in 2022, with Todd Boley and Behada Egbali working together to complete the deal. Charges include reporting undeclared payments to agents and using unregistered intermediaries to complete transfers.
The Times reports that the FA’s disciplinary hearing is expected to conclude this week and should reveal the outcome of the charges against the club. If Chelsea are found to have breached the rules, they could face sporting sanctions such as point deductions.
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However, Chelsea are said to be planning to appeal against the sporting sanction, which is now expected to result in a fine. Former owner Abramovich and former sporting director Marina Granovskaya do not fall under the FA’s jurisdiction as neither are currently involved in football.
The Blues said in September that they would work closely with the FA to ensure they had all the facts necessary for the investigation. A statement from the club said: “Chelsea FC is pleased to confirm that we have reached the end of our engagement with the FA regarding matters self-declared by the club.
“The club’s ownership group completed the acquisition of the club on 30 May 2022. During a thorough due diligence process prior to the completion of the acquisition, the ownership group became aware that financial reporting relating to past transactions may be incomplete and that there may be other breaches of FA regulations.”
“Immediately following completion of the acquisition, the club self-reported these matters to all relevant regulatory authorities, including the FA. The club has demonstrated unprecedented transparency in this process, including giving comprehensive access to the club’s files and historical data.”
“We will continue to work with the FA to bring this matter to a close as quickly as possible. We would like to put on record our gratitude to the FA for engaging with the club on this complex case, which has focused on issues that took place over a decade ago.”
Much has changed in the four years or so under Belie Egbali, and a new Chelsea was born on the other side of the takeover. The Blues were once known for their ruthlessness in hiring and firing managers, but transfers were focused on signing a mix of future superstars and players.
Since then, the club has moved towards creating a sustainable transfer model, with recent periods seeing a steady stream of signings and departures. Chelsea were sometimes criticized for their approach, with many questioning whether such a model could really be successful.
However, enough time and money has been invested in this project, and the team is starting to form into a team that can consistently compete at the top. The Blues finished fourth in the Premier League under manager Enzo Maresca, who led them to a return to the Champions League and the European Conference League trophy.
This season, Chelsea have been in the Premier League title race at times and have shown progress towards reaching that point. The model itself initiates the transfer of funds in a manner that perfects the Profit and Sustainability Regulation (PSR), allowing sales to generate enough revenue to advance the contract.
The west London club still managed to spend a whopping £296.5m in the summer, second only to Liverpool’s record-breaking sum, but their turnover was worth £314.4m, leaving them with a net spend of -17.9m. It shows the system is starting to work and the plan is on track to continue competing.
It remains to be seen whether this situation will change with the introduction of the Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) rule to replace PSR in future seasons. But it shows that Chelsea are operating in a very different way than they were under Abramovich.
