What punishment could Chelsea face after being hit with 74 FA charges?

CHELSEA have been slapped with 74 charges over alleged payments to agents and could be facing serious punishment.

The alleged breaches are understood to have been discovered by new Blues owners Todd Boehly, Behdad Egbali and their Clearlake consortium at the time of the takeover process in May 2022.

2 Chelsea have been hit with 74 charges that allegedly occurred when Roman Abramovich was owner Credit: AP

2 The Prem investigation has been centred around Willian and Eden Hazard Credit: Getty Images - Getty

They were reported to the FA, Uefa and Prem by the new owners at that time.

Uefa and Chelsea agreed a “settlement” of £8.6m in 2023 but the Prem inquiry has been ongoing.

It had been anticipated that the Prem would also issue a fine to the Blues, although some rivals have been privately calling for a stiffer punishment.

The Premier League launched its own investigation in 2023 after it emerged that a series of secret payments had been made, sanctioned by Abramovich and behind the backs of other club officials.

Initially that investigation centred on payments connected to the signings of Samuel Eto’o and Willian in 2013, as well as the capture of Eden Hazard in 2012.

Both Willian and Hazard had been courted strongly by Tottenham but ended up at Stamford Bridge.

It is understood that the allegations centre of “off-books” payments, approved directly by the former owner, to help facilitate signings.

And SunSport can reveal the potential punishment for these "off-books" payments.

If found guilty of the 74 charges, Chelsea are likely to be fined and could be hit with a suspended transfer ban. There is also the possibility of a points deduction.

A Wembley statement announced the charges.

It said: “The Football Association has today charged Chelsea FC with breaches of regulations J1 and C2 of the FA Football Agent 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.

“Conduct that is the subject of the charges ranges from 2009 to 2022 and finality relates to events which occurred between the 2010-11 the 2015-16 playing seasons.

“Chelsea FC has until 19 September 2025 to respond.”

A statement on Chelsea's official website read: "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.