CHELSEA could face a points deduction after the Premier League launched an investigation into the transfers of Willian and Samuel Eto’o.
Both players were signed during Roman Abramovich’s reign from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala.
It is alleged that payments were made to “Russian entities” that were separate to any transfer fee, according to The Times.
And it is claimed a payment to a player’s family is also being looked into.
The Premier League launched an investigation into financial affairs during the Abramovich era in August, including transfers.
And the deals to sign Willian and Eto’o in 2013 are believed to have been flagged by Chelsea’s current owners.
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The separate payments were discovered during the due diligence process Todd Boehly went through to buy the club in May 2022.
It is understood Chelsea then alerted the FA, Premier League and Uefa to the irregularities.
Chelsea said in a statement: “These allegations pre-date the club’s current ownership. They concern entities that were allegedly controlled by the club’s former owner and do not relate to any individual who is presently at the club.
“Chelsea FC’s ownership group completed its purchase of the club on May 30, 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 during the club’s previous ownership.
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“Immediately following the completion of the purchase, the club proactively self-reported these matters to all applicable football regulators.
“In accordance with the club’s ownership group’s core principles of full compliance and transparency the club has proactively assisted the applicable regulators with their investigations and will continue to do so.”
If found guilty of a rule breach the Premier League could impose sanctions on the club.
That could include a fine or a points deduction, with Chelsea already agreeing to a £8.5m settlement payment with Uefa for “instances of potentially incomplete financial reporting under the club’s previous ownership”.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
