Nick De Marco KC questions consistency after Chelsea escape points deduction | OneFootball

A leading sports barrister has warned that inconsistent sanctions risk eroding football’s integrity after Chelsea escaped a points deduction for historic undisclosed payments.

Chelsea admitted breaching Premier League rules over £47.5 million of undeclared payments made under former owner Roman Abramovich. The club were fined £10.75 million and handed a suspended one-year transfer ban in a sanction agreement.

The league said the outcome reflected self-reporting by Chelsea’s new owners and what it called exceptional co-operation throughout its investigation.

Nick De Marco KC, who represented Leicester and Forest in recent cases, did not address Chelsea directly but urged a consistent approach. He questioned calls for automatic points deductions for inadvertent breaches, asking whether such arguments show a genuine commitment to uniform enforcement or are positions taken for particular disputes.

He said inconsistency can damage public confidence in the integrity of the game. He added that decision-makers should judge each case on its facts, avoiding rigidity in some matters and leniency in others, which he believes would help rebuild trust in sports arbitration.

Everton, Leicester and Nottingham Forest have previously received points penalties for financial rule breaches. Club executives are due to meet at a regular shareholders’ gathering in central London on Thursday, and it is unclear whether this issue will be raised.

Source: Nottingham Post