Chelsea could now be hit with sanctions as FA release statement of charges to the club

Originally posted on Chelsea News | By Simon Phillips | Last updated Sep 11, 2025 6:24 AM ET

There is a chance that Chelsea are now hit with some sanctions as the FA release a statement of charges for the club.

Clubs are always at risk of breaching financial rules these days with so many in place, whether from FIFA or from the FA. For the average fan, it’s all become so complicated and it feels like you need to have a financial degree to be able to understand any of it and if we’re truly honest, football has become far too political these days.

Anyway, Chelsea may well be in a spot of bother now and face some sanctions after the FA have released a statement of charges against the club.

These charges are for breaches that happened under the Roman Abramovich ownership rather than the new owners. But it is something that the new owners will now have to deal with and pick up, facing punishment for something they have not even done.

The current owners have worked hard and done all they can to stay within the financial rules since they took charge, so this is going to be a major slap in the face for them.

What are the charges?

The statement from the FA states:

Chelsea FC has been charged with 74 breaches of FA regulations, including:

– FA Football Agents Regulations (Regulations J1 and C2)

– FA Regulations on Working with Intermediaries (Regulations A2 and A3)

– FA Third Party Investment in Players Regulations (Regulations A1 and B3)

The charges cover misconduct that allegedly took place between 2009 and 2022, mainly between the 2010/11 and 2015/16 seasons.

Chelsea have until 19 September 2025 to respond to these charges.

Potential sanctions

Chelsea could now face a big fine, a transfer ban, or another kind of sanction against the club and will need to respond to the charges in due course.

In fact, as I type this, a statement is issued by Chelsea. It reads:

“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.”

This article first appeared on Chelsea News and was syndicated with permission.

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