Leading sports lawyer warns over consistency after Chelsea sanction as clubs voice private concerns | OneFootball

A leading sports lawyer warned that inconsistent sanctions risk undermining football’s integrity after Chelsea avoided a points deduction this week despite admitting rule breaches linked to £47.5 million in undisclosed payments.

According to LeicesterMercury.co.uk, Chelsea were fined £10.75 million and handed a suspended one-year transfer ban under a sanction agreement, while previous points deductions hit Everton, Leicester City and Nottingham Forest. The league said the stance reflected the new owners’ self-reporting and exceptional co-operation.

Nick De Marco KC, who acted for Leicester and Forest in recent cases, did not address Chelsea’s punishment directly but urged a consistent approach in a post on X, questioning why some inadvertent breaches attract points penalties while others do not. He said confidence in sport depends on even-handed treatment and on decisions fitting each case rather than rigidity in some and flexibility in others.

Simon Leaf of Three Points Law told the Press Association the agreement amounted to the deal of the decade. He noted the payments, partly to agents on transfers for players such as Eden Hazard, Willian and Ramires, were said not to trigger PSR breaches, yet argued it was hard to dispute that Chelsea gained a sporting advantage and that focusing only on PSR was a sleight of hand.

Clubs have privately expressed surprise when approached by the Press Association, and Mail Sport reports that senior executives from several Premier League sides have contacted chief executive Richard Masters to seek an explanation. Shareholders are due to meet in central London on Thursday, and it is unclear whether the matter will be raised.

Source: LeicesterMercury.co.uk