Premier League chief Richard Masters says Fifa self-destructed over World Cup plan

Last month, Chelsea were fined £10m and given a suspended ban from registering new players for two transfer windows for breaching rules relating to payments to agents between 2009 and 2022.

However, the club have had a six-point deduction, which was suspended until 30 June 2027, “set aside” on appeal.

Chelsea admitted making £47m in secret payments to unregistered agents and third-parties over transfers between 2011 and 2018.

Owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital self-reported 74 breaches of Football Association rules when they purchased the club in 2022.

The punishment received some criticism for being too lenient, particularly when Everton and Nottingham Forest both received points deductions in 2024 for PSR.

“In the situation with Chelsea, obviously it’s historic. It’s very different to PSR cases,” Masters said.

“In the case of Chelsea, the new owners came forward with all the information, and we decided to enter a sanction agreement.

“That sanction agreement was was overseen by a commission as well, and part of the role of the commission is to assure that that sanction is not unduly lenient.

“I think the key difference is, given the evidence base and given the lack of witnesses, none of the people involved with these payments are still at the club, we not able to interview them, the evidence base isn’t complete.

“The alternative to entering the sanction agreement was to go down a contested commission route. I’m not sure we’d have been able to bring all of the charges that the club ultimately admitted to, or be successful in getting them, so I don’t think there was an easy choice for the board to make.

“We took a decision that the sanction agreement was the best thing for the league, and we’re fully aware that not everyone agrees that that was the right course of action, and we just have to accept that.”