The Football Association (FA) has accused Chelseas of breaking transfer rules.
These alleged violation involve improper payments to agents, intermediaries and third-party investments in players.
In total, Chelseas face 74 rule violations connected to payments to agents between 2009 and 2022, with most of the cases occurred on 2010-11 to 2015-16 seasons.
The FA said in a statement, noting, "The Football Association has today charged Chelsea FC with breaches of Regulations J1 and C2 of The FA Football Agents 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."
For the unversed, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich ran Chelsea from 2003 to 2022 before selling the club to a consortium headed by American investor Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital after the UK government sanctioned Abramovich because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In response, the club issued a statement, in which it explained that when the new owners were reviewing the club's finances before buying it, they found possible missing details in past financial reports and other potential violations.
The club's statement continued, "Immediately upon the completion of the purchase, the club self-reported these matters to all relevant regulators, including the FA."
Chelsea further stated that they have been completely transparent during the investigation, even giving FA complete access to its records and historical data.
They also expressed gratitude to the FA for handling the case, "the focus of which has been on matters that took place over a decade ago.”
Chelsea has been given a deadline of September 19, 2025 to submit its official response to the charges.