Chelsea have been hit with 74 charges of breaching Football Association regulations over 12 years of Roman Abramovich’s ownership of the club.
The Russian oligarch became the owner of Chelsea in 2003 and spent big on the club, becoming one of the biggest and most successful in Europe.
The Blues had won just one top flight title in England before Abramovich’s ownership and that came in 1955.
That quickly changed thanks to the Russian’s spending and the management of Jose Mourinho as they won the Premier League for the first time in 2005 and defended their title the following year.
Chelsea won the Premier League five times with Abramovich as owner, also winning five FA Cups, two Champions Leagues, two Europa League titles and three League Cups.
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However, that immense period of success has come in for scrutiny, with the FA charging Chelsea with breaking rules regarding agents regulations and third-party investment in players.
A statement from the FA on Thursday morning read: ‘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.’
The west London club were quick to respond, with a statement reading: ‘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.’
Abramovich sold the club in 2022 to the current owners, led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Captial after being sanctioned by the UK government during Russia’s attack on Ukraine due to close ties with the Kremlin.