Stefan Borson drops Chelsea penalty verdict after Premier League talks revealed
Chelsea appear to have gained a sporting advantage from payments relating to transfers made during the Roman Abramovich era.
That is the view of finance expert Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider it would be “surprising” to see the west London club escape with just a financial sanction following the allegations.
Chelsea revealed during BlueCo’s takeover from Abramovich in May 2022 they had discovered “incomplete financial information” had been submitted to the football authorities between 2012 and 2019.
The London giants then reported themselves to the Premier League, Uefa and The FA, leading to an investigation into the matter taking place.
Chelsea reached an £8.7million settlement with Uefa in July 2023 due to the governing body having a statute of limitations that meant it was able to look back only as far as the 2018-19 season – something the Premier League has no such restriction on.
The Athletic reported on 15 January the club are now in talks with the Premier League over agreeing a financial settlement for the payments.
Chelsea should receive sporting sanction after payments reveal
Borson insisted the legal authorities appear to suggest Chelsea should receive a sporting sanction.
He told Football Insider: “It would be surprising if the Premier League were able to sanction them with just a financial penalty because it appears that the allegations that are made relate to matters that would have given Chelsea a sporting advantage, not purely a financial advantage.
“We know from PSR cases and from Uefa cases that where there is a sporting advantage, the legal authorities seem to suggest that you should receive a sporting sanction.
“The fact that it’s very historic seems to me to not be the key relevant point or the fact that it was under different ownership.
“If that was the case, you could have a situation where any club could effectively sever their liability for historic matters simply by transferring the shares from one entity to another, which can’t be good practice.
“But clearly, they are negotiating a financial settlement, so we will just have to see how that pans out.”
In other news, West Ham set to step up attempts to sign Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
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