Chelsea have come under Premier League scrutiny for breaking financial rules
The Premier League has launched an investigation against Chelsea for a number of financial breaches under Roman Abramovich’s ownership, CEO Richard Masters confirmed on Wednesday.
After former owner Abramovich sold the club to American businessman Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where the oligarch had ties with Vladimir Putin came under the scanner. This saw the UK government freeze the assets of the Russian oligarchs, which forced him to step down as Chelsea’s owner.
The Blues’ new owner has reported that the Blues have committed a number of financial breaches to European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, the Premier League, and the FA.
The Times claimed that Abramovich’s spending contains multi-million-pound payments to anonymous offshore entities that hold connections with football intermediaries, which have been regarded as illegal and will result in penalties such as a heavy fine or even a points deduction for the club.
Throwing some light on the issue, (h/t ESPN) Richards Masters said:
“We have been pretty open about the historic issues with regard to Chelsea because they self-reported to the Premier League and to the FA, so it is obvious that we are looking into that. If the Premier League believes a club has breached the financial regulations and there is a case to answer, that case will be put to the club.”
It’s a good thing that our current owner self-reported the violations because if the Premier League or another regulatory body had discovered them, it may have damaged the club’s reputation. Hopefully, this is not a major problem as we are not associated with Abramovich anymore and can escape with a slap on the wrist.
The next step is to wait and see what actions the investigators decide to take, which might range from point deductions to significant fines. Hopefully, with nothing to hide, our name will be made clear soon.
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Hopefully, the fine won’t be excessive, and we will be given a clean chit soon. Either way, there is little to do now but to comply with the agencies and showcase the truth of the matter. We can only hope that it does not come back to bite us.