The Premier League has sanctioned Chelsea for breaching the English league's financial regulations during the Roman Abramovich era, as announced in a statement.

The punishment includes an €11.6 million fine, the largest in the competition's history, a one-year ban on signing first-team players that is suspended for two years, and an immediate nine-month prohibition on acquiring and registering youth academy players.

The sanction, worth more than £10.75 million, is based on violations of Premier League rules regarding financial reporting, third-party investment, and youth development. Above all, it concerns alleged historical payments to football agents when the Russian oligarch was still in charge of the club, before he left in February 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine.

A punishment that has been accepted in "good faith" by the Blues. "Chelsea Football Club is pleased to confirm that it has reached an agreement with the Premier League regarding historical regulatory matters that the club itself reported in 2022.

The club voluntarily and proactively disclosed to all relevant regulatory authorities potential historical regulatory breaches, including incomplete financial reporting that took place over a decade ago," begins the announcement issued by the club.

And it was Chelsea itself that "proactively provided thousands of documents" and "provided comprehensive responses without delay and facilitated all lines of inquiry to support a complex and extremely thorough process."

From Stamford Bridge, they insist that "the club has addressed these matters with the utmost seriousness, fully cooperating with all relevant regulatory authorities." And they conclude: "The club fully accepts the terms of the agreement. We are pleased that the matter has been concluded."

The club has escaped sporting sanctions for the first team, and Chelsea will be able to continue registering first-team players if it commits no new infractions, while no punishment involving a points deduction has been imposed. Regarding the sanction that affects the academy and carries a £750,000 fine.

The Blues clarify: "The nine-month restriction on registering Academy players applies immediately, but only to those Academy players who have previously been registered with other Premier League or EFL clubs in the previous 18 months. It does not apply to current Chelsea players, international players, or players applying for first registration above the Under-9 age category."

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