Chelsea fine: Premier League ‘extremely lenient’, says Christian Purslow
Everton and Nottingham Forest have received point deductions in recent years for breaching the Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) but Chelsea have escaped sporting sanction despite committing “clear and deliberate breaches” that “involved deceit and concealment in financial matters”.
When the penalty was announced, Chelsea said: “From the beginning of this process, the club has treated these matters extremely seriously and has co-operated fully with all relevant regulators.”
Because the violations occurred while former owner Roman Abramovich was in office and BlueCo’s new owners showed “extraordinary cooperation” by making voluntary disclosures, this was seen as sufficient mitigation to avoid harsher penalties.
“It’s actually a series of offenses about how you run the transfer business, so a transfer ban makes sense,” Purslow said.
“But it seems extremely tolerant to see the ban suspended completely again.
“This must really frustrate him as he feels that clubs he has collaborated with in the past, such as Everton and Forest, are not held in high esteem.”
While deducting points to Everton, the Premier League had previously stated that “a financial penalty imposed on a club that has the backing of a wealthy owner is not a sufficient penalty”.
The decision also stated that “the requirements of deterrence, vindication of compliant clubs and protection of the integrity of the sport require a sports sanction in the form of a point deduction.”
Chelsea signed players such as Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto’o, Willian, Ramires, David Luiz and Nemanja Matic, who went on to win seven major honours, including two Premier League titles and the Champions League, between 2011 and 2018.
“Sporting sanctions first emerged as an acknowledgment that punishment, sometimes with a fine, did not fit the crime,” Purslow said. he added.
“So when football clubs gained a meaningful football advantage, you had to impose a sporting penalty to compensate.
“It is clear that sporting benefits have been achieved through this transfer activity.”
