Chelsea hit with 74 charges by the FA

74 charges have been brought against Chelsea by the English Football Association over alleged breaches of the FA’s agent regulations and third-party investment in players.

The charges relate to a period between 2009 and 2022 when former owner Roman Abramovich was in charge of Chelsea. The FA said in their statement that the charges “primarily relate to events which occurred between the 2010/11 to 2015/16 playing seasons.”

Both the FA and Chelsea released statements on the charges, with Chelsea’s current owners BlueCo saying that they were “aware of potentially incomplete financial reporting concerning historical transactions and other potential breaches of FA rules” before they bought the club from Roman Abramovich in 2022.

Chelsea’s current owners also revealed that “immediately upon the completion of the purchase, the club self-reported these matters to all relevant regulators, including The FA” and that they have “demonstrated unprecedented transparency during this process, including by giving comprehensive access to the club’s files and historical data.”

The reigning Club World Cup champions also said they “will continue working collaboratively with the FA to conclude this matter as swiftly as possible” and thanked them 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.”

Per the FA statement, Chelsea has until September 19 to respond to the charges.

FA statement on Chelsea charges

“The Football Association has today charged Chelsea FC with breaches of Regulations J1 and C2 of The FA Football Agents 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.

“In total, 74 charges have been brought against Chelsea FC. The conduct that is the subject of the charges ranges from 2009 to 2022 and primarily relates to events which occurred between the 2010/11 to 2015/16 playing seasons. Chelsea FC has until 19 September 2025 to respond.”

Chelsea statement on FA charges

“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.”