Chelsea Football Club has been handed a £10m fine and a suspended two-window transfer ban by the FA after admitting breaches of agent rules. The FA announced the sanctions on Friday, following the club's self-reporting of misconduct.
The club's current Clearlake Capital ownership group admitted to £47m in secret payments made to unregistered agents and third-parties for transfers between 2011 and 2018, during Roman Abramovich's previous regime. The FA stated that Chelsea admitted to 74 breaches of FA Rule E1.2.
An independent Regulatory Commission initially imposed a suspended six-point deduction and the £10m fine. However, Chelsea appealed the suspended points deduction, and an independent appeal board allowed the appeal, setting aside this sanction. In its place, the appeal board imposed a registration ban for two complete and consecutive transfer windows, which is suspended until 30 June 2027. The £10m fine was not appealed and will be invested into grassroots football.
Chelsea released a statement confirming the conclusion of the FA process, noting that they had self-reported potential historical rule breaches to all applicable regulators in 2022 and had worked transparently. The club also confirmed that settlement agreements had previously been reached with Uefa and the Premier League regarding the same matters.