Chelsea was fined $14.3 million but avoided a points deduction after admitting to breaching Premier League rules in relation to undisclosed payments of more than $60 million during its previous ownership under Roman Abramovich.
Sanction agreements were reached, the league said Monday, after Chelsea self-reported potential breaches to the Football Association that came to light in 2022 when American investors Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital led a consortium to buy out Abramovich for 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion).
Payments worth around 47 million pounds ($62.5 million) were made from third-party entities which, the Premier League said, were “controlled by or associated with” Abramovich to unlicensed agents and individuals connected to selling clubs, facilitating transfers for players including Eden Hazard, David Luiz, Samuel Eto’o and Willian.
“It was established that between 2011 and 2018, undisclosed payments by third parties associated with the club were made to players, unregistered agents and other third parties,” the league said in a statement.
“These payments were not disclosed to the football regulatory authorities at the time, including the Premier League.”
The undisclosed payments “were made for the benefit of Chelsea,” the statement said, “and should have been treated as having been made by the club.”
They “constituted a breach of the requirement to act in good faith towards the league,” the competition said.
Chelsea accepted fines totaling 10.75 million pounds ($14.3 million), which were ratified by an independent commission, and was given an immediate nine-month academy transfer ban and a suspended one-year transfer ban for first-team players.
No points deduction was applied, however.
The club said it was “pleased” to reach a settlement with the Premier League.
“From the outset of this process,” Chelsea said in its own statement, “the club has treated these matters with the utmost seriousness, providing full cooperation to all relevant regulators.”
The league noted Chelsea's “proactive self-reporting, admissions of breach and exceptional cooperation throughout the investigation acted as significant mitigating factors,” with the club sharing more than 200,000 documents with the Premier League.
The league also said it was satisfied that Chelsea “in no scenario” would have breached the league's profitability and sustainability rules in those periods if the payments made had been properly included in the club’s accounts.
These factors helped to reduce the fine by around 50% and meant a points penalty was not deemed appropriate.
Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior said the sanctions would not be a “negative distraction” to the team.
“I think actually that’s a line drawn through that issue and we can move on and we can plan to make this club as strong as possible in the long term,” he said at a news conference Monday ahead of a Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain.
Chelsea's new owners have been fined on multiple occasions by UEFA for financial breaches.
In 2023, during the first year of new regime, Chelsea paid UEFA a 10 million euros (then $11.8 million) fine to settle irregularities committed while the club was owned by Abramovich, who was forced to sell the club after Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. That was also self-reported by the club.
Last year, Chelsea was fined 20 million euros (then $23.6 million) for failing to approach break-even and a further 11 million euros ($13 million) for spending more than an 80% set limit of its revenue on so-called “squad cost” such as transfers and wages.
A separate disciplinary process conducted by the Football Association is ongoing and relates to the same breaches for which Chelsea has been sanctioned by the Premier League.
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Chelsea's manager Liam Rosenior during a training session in Stoke d'Abernon, England, Monday March 16, 2026, ahead of the Champions League soccer match against Paris Saint-Germain. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)
Chelsea players celebrate after a goal during the fifth round FA Cup soccer match between Wrexham and Chelsea in Wrexham, Wales, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. military leaders said Tuesday that a ceasefire with Iran remains in effect a day after Tehran was blamed for new attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and against the United Arab Emirates.
The fragile truce, reached nearly a month ago, appeared to be holding as U.S. forces pressed ahead with efforts to reopen the vital waterway for global energy. On Monday, the U.S. said it sank six small Iranian boats that had threatened commercial ships.
So far, only two merchant ships are known to have passed through a new U.S.-guarded route, with hundreds more bottled up in the Persian Gulf. It's unclear whether continued U.S. military action will reassure shippers without reigniting the conflict that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
The UAE, a key American ally, said it came under attack by Iranian missiles and drones for a second straight day on Tuesday. At least three people were wounded in attacks the day before, and a drone sparked a fire at a key oil facility in the eastern emirate of Fujairah.
Iran’s effective closure of the strait, through which major oil and gas supplies passed before the war, along with fertilizer and other petroleum-derived products, has sent fuel prices skyrocketing and rattled the global economy. Breaking Iran's grip would deny its main source of leverage as U.S. President Donald Trump demands a major rollback of its disputed nuclear program.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the U.S. military’s top officer, told a news conference Tuesday that Iran’s renewed aggression hadn’t reached the threshold of what Caine called “major combat operations.” He said Tuesday marked a “quieter” day in the strait.
“No, the ceasefire is not over,” Hegseth said, affirming Caine’s assessment. They spoke before the latest attacks on the UAE.
Iran has said the new effort does violate the ceasefire. Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, accused the U.S. of undermining regional security. In a post on X, he signaled that Iran has yet to fully respond to the U.S. attempt to reopen the waterway.
“We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; while we have not even begun yet,” he said. His statement did not mention negotiations with the U.S. that are now in the form of passing messages via Pakistan.
Disputing Washington’s claim of sinking six boats, an Iranian military commander said two small civilian cargo boats were hit on Monday, killing five civilians, Iran’s state TV reported.
Caine, the top U.S. general who serves as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said more than 100 U.S. military aircraft are patrolling skies around the strait.
“Since the ceasefire was announced, Iran has fired at commercial vessels nine times and seized two container ships, and they’ve attacked U.S. forces more than 10 times – all below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point,” Caine said.
The administration has cited the April 8 ceasefire in asserting that the president does not have to give a formal update to Congress on the war under the War Powers Resolution. That law typically requires presidents to seek formal approval from Congress for war activities 60 days after beginning military action.
So far, just two civilian vessels, both U.S.-flagged merchant ships, are known to have passed through the strait as part of the lane the U.S. says it has created.
“At this point in time our risk assessment remains unchanged,” Hamburg, Germany-based shipping company Hapag-Lloyd AG said in a statement. “Transits through the Strait of Hormuz are for the moment not possible for our ships.”
Ship tracking data showed a Panamanian-flagged crude oil tanker heading toward the center of the strait Tuesday after leaving an anchorage in the Persian Gulf, though it was unclear if it would try to pass through. The tanker had a stated destination of Singapore, according to the MarineTraffic ship tracking site.
Iran has attacked ships that try to transit without going through its own route in the northern part of the narrow strait near the Iranian coastline. That involves going through vetting by Iran's Revolutionary Guard and payment in some cases.
The U.S.-approved “Project Freedom” route goes through territorial waters of Oman to the south.
“For shipping companies and for insurance companies, they still have to wait and see how this plays out,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle East analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.
“This initiative alone isn’t something that looks like it’s going to open the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
The United Arab Emirates said its air defenses had engaged 15 missiles and four drones fired by Iran. Authorities in the eastern emirate of Fujairah said one drone sparked a fire at a key oil facility, wounding three Indian nationals. The British military reported two cargo vessels ablaze off the UAE, also on Monday.
On Tuesday, the UAE's Defense Ministry said air defenses were responding to another Iranian drone and missile attack.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday condemned the attacks, calling the targeting of civilians and infrastructure “unacceptable.” On X, Modi said India stands in “firm solidarity” with the UAE, and stressed the need for safe and uninterrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran did not confirm or deny the attacks but Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi early Tuesday said on X that both the U.S. and the UAE “should be wary of being dragged back into quagmire.”
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia condemned the strikes against the UAE. The Saudi condemnation came despite increasingly strained relations with the UAE.
The disruption of the waterway has squeezed countries in Europe and Asia that depend on Persian Gulf oil and gas, raising prices far beyond the region.
The U.S. meanwhile has enforced a naval blockade on Iranian ports since April 13, telling at least 49 commercial ships to turn back, according to its Central Command. It also has warned shipping companies they could face sanctions if they pay Iran for transit of the strait.
The blockade has deprived Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy. U.S. officials have expressed hope the blockade will force Iran to make concessions in talks on its nuclear program and other longstanding issues.
Finley reported from Washington and Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut, Lebanon; Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi; Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.
Pro-government demonstrators chant slogans as one of them holds a poster of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during their gathering at Enqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution, square in Tehran, Iran, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Israeli soldiers drive a tank inside a village in southern Lebanon, as seen from northern Israel, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An Iranian demonstrator waves a flag of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group under an anti-U.S. billboard depicting the American aircrafts into the Iranian armed forces fishing net with signs that read in Farsi: "The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed, The entire Persian Gulf is our hunting ground," during a pro-government gathering at Enqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution, square in Tehran, Iran, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A bulk cargo ship sits at anchor in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Saturday, May 2, 2026.(Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)
