Chelsea have been hit with 74 charges by the Football Association (FA) and things could yet get worse for the Premier League club.
The FA announced on Thursday that Chelsea that had been charged with dozens of potential rule breaches, dating from Roman Abramovich's time in charge of the west London club.
The alleged breaches relate to conduct between 2009 to 2022 and are related to rules on agents, intermediaries and "third-party investment in players".
Chelsea issued an immediate response to the 74 charges, stating that the alleged breaches were "self reported" after coming to light during the due diligence process undertaken by the Clearlake and Todd Boehly consortium prior to their takeover of the club from Abramovich in 2022.
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"The Club has demonstrated unprecedented transparency during this process, including by giving comprehensive access to the Club’s files and historical data," read a Chelsea statement.
"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."
It remains to be seen what punishment Chelsea could face if they are found guilty of all charges, although The Sun has suggested the club could be handed a 'record-breaking' fine.
Things could get worse for the Blues, however, with The Telegraph's Matt Law confirming that the Premier League's own separate investigation into Chelsea "is still ongoing".
The Premier League launched its probe into the Blues in 2023 after leaked documents showed how Abramovich allegedly used offshore companies to make transactions to agents and associates.
The alleged payments were worth tens of millions of pounds and could have impacted financial fair play regulations if officially declared.
These alleged 'off the books' payments were first discovered by Boehly, Behdad Egbali and their Clearlake consortium during their takeover of the club - with the matter reported to the Premier League, FA and UEFA.
Chelsea reached a "settlement" with UEFA in 2023 to pay a €10m (£8.6m) fine for "submitting incomplete financial information" during the Abramovich era.
Meanwhile, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters gave a rare update on the league's own investigation last month.
"What we’re talking about is something historic," he said. "It's complicated where we have the club talking to us about things that have happened under a previous ownership.
"All I can say is that investigation is reaching a conclusion.
"But until it has done so, I can't really say what is going to happen next."
Topics: Chelsea, Premier League, Roman Abramovich, Football News
Rory O'Callaghan