A recent report from the English media about the scam that happened during Roman Abramovich’s tenure has rocked English football.

Chelsea are staring at a hefty fine after being slapped with 74 FA charges for breaching agent regulations during Chelsea’s previous owner Roman Abramovich’s era.

The Football Association confirmed the charges in a statement released from Wembley earlier today.

A Wembley statement announced the charges on Thursday morning. It said, “The Football Association has today charged Chelsea FC with breaches of regulations J1 and C2 of the FA Football Agent 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.”

“In total, 74 charges have been brought against Chelsea FC.”

“Conduct that is the subject of the charges ranges from 2009 to 2022 and finally relates to events which occurred between the 2010-11 and the 2015-16 playing seasons.”

“Chelsea FC has until 19 September 2025 to respond.”

During Abramovich’s time in 2023, the Premier League launched an investigation. Through the investigation it surfaced that various payments were made without club officials knowing.

The investigation initially focused on payments linked to the signings of Samuel Eto’o and Willian in 2013, along with the high-profile capture of Eden Hazard in 2012.

Both Willian and Hazard had been pursued heavily by Tottenham but ultimately chose Stamford Bridge. Allegations suggest that so-called “off-books” payments, approved directly by former owner Roman Abramovich, were used to help secure those transfers.

These suspected breaches reportedly came to light during the takeover process in May 2022. During the new owners Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali and the Clearlake consortium carried out due diligence. The findings were passed on to the FA, UEFA and the Premier League.

In 2023, UEFA and Chelsea reached a settlement of £8.6m, but the Premier League inquiry has remained open. A fine from the league had been expected, though some rival clubs were pushing privately for harsher punishment.

Now, however, the FA’s decision to bring forward 74 charges could overshadow any Premier League sanction. The sheer scale of the alleged breaches, spanning more than a decade, suggests that if penalties are imposed, they could be record-breaking.

The current Chelsea owners are said to be fully cooperating with the investigation. Chelsea are also believed to have beaten Manchester United to Hazard’s signature. Reports suggest United refused to make a secret multi-million-pound payment to his agent.