Chelsea under fire: FA investigates years of hidden payments

Last Updated on 11 September 2025

Storm clouds are gathering over Stamford Bridge once again. Chelsea, already navigating a turbulent new era under Todd Boehly, have been hit with a bombshell.

The club now faces 74 alleged rule breaches in a case that stretches back more than a decade, according to the BBC.

The Football Association confirmed charges centring around payments to agents, intermediaries and third-party investments in players.

The charges on Chelsea are from before Todd Boehly’s takeover, and primarily span seasons between 2010-11 and 2015-16, a period firmly rooted in the Roman Abramovich era.

Chelsea given 8 days to respond to the alleged breaches

According to the official statement, Chelsea have until the 19th of September to respond to the charges.

A closer look at the alleged charges reveals certain ‘off-the-book’ payments to agents for signings including Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto’o and Willian.

Ben Jacobs of GiveMeSport and talkSPORT revealed how the Premier League club are co-operating with the FA on the charges.

In fact, they’ve opened up their books for investigation and hired one of the biggest accountancy firms to analyze the breaches.

Chelsea also published their statement in response to the charges claiming the investigation was ‘reaching a conclusion’.

The club self-reported on the breaches when the Clearlake-Boehly takeover materialised. They maintain there was no ‘sporting advantage’ gained.

FA could hand Chelsea a points deduction or a possible transfer ban

Chelsea feel confident in fighting the alleged charges but if they are proven, the FA will have a wide range of sanctions available, according to the Daily Mail.

This includes sporting sanctions like a potential transfer ban.

A possible points deduction is also on the table. While a fine might be an option, too.

The London-based club already breached FIFA’s laws of signing underage foreign players in a separate case in 2019.

That resulted in a fine just under half a million pounds and a ban from signings players from the summer of 2019 until the end of January 2020.