Chelsea believe they will escape a points deduction or transfer ban as the Premier League investigates financial irregularities linked to former owner Roman Abramovich, per the Telegraph.
A resolution was initially expected by the end of March, but the Premier League has confirmed the investigation remains ongoing.
The probe focuses on some transactions during the Abramovich reign, including the signings of Willian and Samuel Eto’o.
Offshore payments connected to these deals have raised eyebrows. The new Chelsea owners decided to report what they considered to be suspicious.
Intriguingly, the current ownership group accounted for potential liabilities by reducing the purchase price by £100 million during the sale.
However, the new owners have not helped their case by engaging in some curious accounting themselves since they arrived to escape financial scrutiny after recklessly burning through £1.3bn in transfer fees.
Chelsea somehow sold Chelsea’s women’s team to a sister company for £200m, an accounting move used to help comply with Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Even if Chelsea escape punishment from the Premier League, UEFA will not allow that. They prohibit the inclusion of such a sale to offset financial losses. A ban from European competition is possible.
Chelsea have already taken a transfer ban before, and if they are guilty of perpetuating these financial irregularities, they might be hit with something similar.
Insiders insist that fears of sanctions have not influenced Chelsea’s recent scatter-gun transfer approach.
Chelsea believe they have a strong case for avoiding severe punishment, but fans face a nervy wait before the outcome is revealed.
