Chelsea fined for £10.7m, given one year transfer ban

Chelsea FC have been fined £10.7 million and handed a suspended 12-month transfer ban after investigations found the club made undisclosed payments during the ownership era of former owner Roman Abramovich.

The sanction was confirmed by the Premier League following a probe into historical financial dealings linked to player transfers between 2011 and 2018.

Under the ruling, Chelsea will not face an immediate transfer ban.

However, the one-year restriction on registering first-team players has been suspended for two years, meaning the penalty will only take effect if the club commits further breaches within that period.

In addition to the £10.7 million fine — the largest ever imposed by the Premier League — Chelsea have also been banned from signing academy players registered with the Premier League or the English Football League for nine months and fined an additional £750,000 over separate rule violations.

According to the Premier League, the investigation established that several payments linked to the club were not disclosed to football authorities at the time.

“As a result of the Premier League’s investigation, it was established that between 2011 and 2018, undisclosed payments by third parties associated with the club were made to players, unregistered agents and other third parties,” the league said in a statement.