It does not appear so at this stage, but ultimately this will depend on the outcome of the respective cases.
The sheer number of accusations that Chelsea are facing – unprecedented in scale for the FA – draws inevitable comparisons with the catalogue of more than a hundred charges levelled at Manchester City in 2013 for alleged breaches of Premier League rules. City deny wrongdoing and are await a ruling from an independent commission that held a hearing last year.
Both cases are very serious for the clubs concerned, covering multiple years, with both facing the possibility of a points deduction, depending on the outcome. Chelsea’s owners say they reported themselves after discovering “incomplete financial information” had been submitted. Similarly, some of City’s charges relate to an alleged breach of rules requiring clubs to provide “accurate financial information.”
There are key differences, however.
City are contesting their charges, while Chelsea are not thought to have challenged theirs, although they could appeal against any punishment.
Chelsea’s alleged wrongdoing is narrower in scope; namely relating to agents payments across six seasons. City’s is more extensive, including allegations of failing to provide full details of revenue, its ‘related parties’, and its operating costs, including player and manager pay. It also stands accused of breaching Uefa financial fair play rules, and profit and sustainability rules across nine seasons.
The FA charges against Chelsea relate to a previous era at Stamford Bridge, when Abramovich owned the club. In contrast, the charges City are facing relate to their current Abu Dhabi ownership.
Furthermore, Chelsea claim they have shown “unprecedented transparency” by self-reporting the matter to regulators when discovering it, then “giving comprehensive access to the club’s files and historical data”.
In contrast, City’s allegations only emerged after internal documents were leaked, and they have been charged with multiple counts of failing to co-operate with the Premier League’s investigation.
City strongly deny the charges and we do not know the outcome of the hearing that took place in front of an independent commission between September and December 2024.
All this has resulted in different sanctions from Uefa. While European football’s governing body threw the book at City in 2020 with a two-year ban (albeit subsequently overturned after an appeal, with a 30m euro fine reduced to 10m euros), they fined Chelsea £8.6m in 2023.
