Chelsea are set to hear the outcome of the 74 charges levelled at the club in the near future.
Those charges relate to situations where the Blues have allegedly made undeclared payments to agents and used unregistered intermediaries during transfer negotiations.
The scenarios in question occurred before the takeover of the club in 2022, and were self-reported by the new owners, BlueCo, in an attempt to start their reign with a clean slate.
Chelsea to learn outcome of 74 FA charges
The alleged irregularities in transfer dealings and agent payments happened during the tenure of Roman Abramovich, who was sanctioned and forced to sell the club in 2022 following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
BlueCo, fronted by Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, found the potential breaches during their assessments of the club during the takeover.
The FA’s hearing regarding the charges is set to be concluded this week, according to a report from The Times, so Chelsea should soon know their fate.
A range of punishments remain open to the governing body, including fines and even a points deduction.
Chelsea currently sit in fifth place in the Premier League, but the competitive nature of the division this year means they’re only three points above Newcastle United in 12th, so any sporting sanction could have a big impact.
However, Chelsea are said to be expecting a fine rather than a points deduction, likely due to their proactive honesty in the situation, and would appeal any sporting sanction.
Abramovich and former sporting director Marina Granovskaia are no longer involved in football, so the FA’s only recourse if the charges are upheld is to punish the club.
In a statement in September, Chelsea said: “Chelsea FC is pleased to confirm that its engagement with The FA concerning matters that were self-reported by the club is now reaching a conclusion.
“The Club’s ownership group completed its purchase of the club on 30 May 2022. During a thorough due diligence process prior to completion of the purchase, the ownership group became aware of potentially incomplete financial reporting concerning historical transactions and other potential breaches of FA rules.
"Immediately upon the completion of the purchase, the Club self-reported these matters to all relevant regulators, including The FA. The Club has demonstrated unprecedented transparency during this process, including by giving comprehensive access to the Club’s files and historical data.
"We will continue working collaboratively with The FA to conclude this matter as swiftly as possible. We wish to place on record our gratitude to The FA for their engagement with the Club on this complex case, the focus of which has been on matters that took place over a decade ago."
