Chelsea Football Club has narrowly avoided the harshest possible sanction in its financial fair play case, as the Premier League confirmed the reversal of a six-point deduction imposed on the club. The initial penalty, which would have crippled the Blues’ title ambitions, was annulled on appeal and replaced with a suspended transfer ban.

The Football Association (FA) investigation uncovered systematic financial irregularities stretching back to the Roman Abramovich era, between 2009 and 2022. While the majority of breaches occurred between 2010 and 2016, they only came to light in 2022 when the club’s new ownership completed its takeover. The FA formally lodged 74 charges against Chelsea in September of the previous year.

During Abramovich’s tenure, the club made payments totalling £47 million to unregistered agents and third parties between 2011 and 2018. Several high-profile signings from this period now fall under scrutiny, including Eden Hazard’s move from Lille in 2012, Samuel Eto’o and Willian’s arrivals from Anzhi Makhachkala in 2013, André Schürrle’s transfer from Bayer Leverkusen in the same year, Nemanja Matić from Benfica in 2014, and David Luiz from Paris Saint-Germain in 2016.