I got the money in the back' EPL's prestigious humiliation... A whopping 21.5 billion 'the highest ever' fine was bombed

*This content was translated by AI.

It is a disgrace to the reputation of the English Premier League (EPL). Chelsea was fined the highest amount ever after it was found that they secretly paid back money in the process of recruiting players in the past.

British media 'BBC' reported on the 17th (Korea Standard Time) that Chelsea was fined £10.75 million (about 21.5 billion won) and banned from transferring for secretly paying unregistered agents and third parties during the transfer transaction between 2011 and 2018.

Chelsea delivered secret funds worth 47.5 million pounds (about 94.3 billion won) to 12 individuals or corporations on a total of 36 occasions, according to an announcement by the EPL secretariat. The funds were mainly paid through third parties registered in British Virgin Islands, and were not recorded in the club account book at all. The media also revealed, "In particular, former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is involved."

The list of suspected back-money transactions included a number of key players who led Chelsea's heyday. The players mentioned in the investigation document are not directly at fault, but a large amount of secret funds were invested in the recruitment process.

The largest amount of 23 million pounds (about 45.7 billion won) was reportedly paid to seven unregistered agents to recruit Eden Hazard, Hamires, David Luiz, Andre Scheele and Nemanja Matic. Of the transfer fees for Samuel Eto'o and Willian, who were acquired from Anji Mahachkala of Russia, 1.3 million pounds (about 38.3 billion won) was also paid out of the book. In addition, 1.37 million pounds (about 2.7 billion won) were delivered to three staff members, including technical director Frank Arnesen and secretary scout Piet de, and 3.8 million pounds (about 7.5 billion won) were paid for the transfer of an unidentified player.

Between 2013 and 2017, when players recruited with secret funds played an active role, Chelsea spent its golden years lifting a total of six trophies, including two Premier League wins, two FA Cup wins, one League Cup victory and one Europa League victory. Hazard became a club legend with 110 goals in 352 games, and Willian and Hamires also played hundreds of games and played as the mainstay of the team.

Chelsea could have been subject to stronger penalties, including points cuts, but the level of disciplinary action was lowered as Bluco, who newly acquired the club, checked the books and reported the violation on his own and actively cooperated with the investigation. The Premier League board initially considered a £20 million fine and a ban on recruitment during the two transfer markets, but took into account voluntary disclosure and exceptional cooperation, halving the fine and confirming the transfer ban as a suspended sentence exempt from further violations for two years.

Meanwhile, apart from the incident, Chelsea was also banned from recruiting academy players for nine months on charges that occurred during the youth player registration process between 2019 and 2022. Chelsea, which has already been fined 10 million euros (about 17.1 billion won) by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), is also set to hold a hearing with the English Football Association (FA) in the future.

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*This content was translated by AI.