Chelsea face sanctions for violations committed under Roman Abramovich

The English Premier League (EPL) is investigating London’s Chelsea. Its result can be both the appointment of a fine to the club, and the deprivation of points in the team starting on Friday in the English Football Championship. The reason for the investigation was some financial transactions carried out by the Londoners back in the days when the team was owned by Roman Abramovich. It is assumed that the club actively used the practice of paying for player transfers through offshore companies, but did not reflect such actions in its reporting. Given, however, that Chelsea itself notified both the Premier League and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) of the violations, the team is likely to avoid the most severe punishment.

The English Premier League is investigating Chelsea Football Club. As a result, according to The Times, Londoners could face a hefty fine or even be stripped of points in the Premier League starting on Friday. It is noteworthy that the club itself notified the regulatory authorities about the identified financial violations. The violations were identified during the study of documentation relating to the time when Chelsea was owned by Russian businessman Roman Abramovich. Recallthat he was forced to sell the club in the spring of last year, after he was on the EU and UK sanctions lists. The club cost the new Chelsea owner Todd Boehley a total of £4.25bn, of which £2.5bn was paid for the club itself, with another £1.75bn Mr. Boehley pledged to invest in its development.

Doubtful transactions, according to The Times, refer to the period 2012-2019. At this time, Chelsea actively used offshore schemes when transferring players, without notifying either the Premier League or UEFA about this.

Under suspicion were payments to six offshore companies. These transactions never showed up on Chelsea’s books. In addition, the club is suspected of having resorted to hidden payments for players. In particular, questions arose about the transfer of the Danish defender Andreas Christensen from the Danish Brondby, which took place back in 2012. On the same day that the transfer documents were signed (Christensen was only 16 years old at the time of the transfer, and Chelsea got him for free), his father Sten Christensen was hired by Chelsea as a scout. Over the next four years, Christensen Sr. received £ 650 thousand from Chelsea, despite the fact that in reality he remained the goalkeeping coach at Brøndby.

It should be noted that recently this is the second case when Chelsea itself notifies higher structures about violations in reporting made under the previous owner. At the end of July, the Londoners agreed to pay a fine of €10 million to UEFA when it turned out that a number of payments to counterparties during the processing of transfers were not reflected in the accounts. Despite the voluntary notification of the identified violations, UEFA did not consider it possible to put the brakes on the case. However, a fine in this situation is not the worst option for Chelsea. Apparently, given the desire of the club to cooperate with the regulatory authorities, the case will be limited to a fine this time as well.

Alexander Petrov