Chelsea to avoid FA punishment over ‘illegal transfer payment’ to Andreas Christensen’s father

Chelsea are not expected to face any action for making alleged illegal payments to Andreas Christensen’s father – after i learned they were declared during a “Premier League amnesty” in 2015.

i revealed two weeks ago that the Football Association was investigating the allegations, first published in Danish newspaper Politiken, that Chelsea paid Christensen’s father, Sten, £11,400 per month plus VAT for four years, totalling more than £650,000, to work as a scout, even though he did not do any such job for the club.

However, back in November 2015, the Premier League agreed an amnesty with clubs, during which time if they admitted to breaching rules around signing players aged between 12 and 16 then they would be given a free pass. The league then used the information to inform their new policies on the transfers of academy players, which came into effect in the 2016-17 season. i has been told that Chelsea declared the payments to Christensen’s father as part of that process.

The recent public revelation of the payments in leaked emails and documents and the involvement of the FA, a separate authoritative body, have complicated matters, but it is not expected that Chelsea will face any sanctions.

A Chelsea spokesman told i: “We do not comment on speculation about confidential contracts or player-related matters.”

Man City to be punished

Manchester City, however, can expect a youth transfer ban if they are found guilty of handing a scouting contract to Jadon Sancho’s agent, Emeka Obasi, worth £200,000, as part of the deal to take the player from Watford when he was 14 years old, details of which were first published in German news magazine Der Spiegel and based upon Football Leaks documents and emails.

The FA and the Premier League are looking into the transfer, which took place in 2014 and which i has been told was not declared to the league during the amnesty period.

When contacted by i, Manchester City reiterated their previous statement, which read: “The attempt to damage the club’s reputation is organised and clear. We will not be providing any comment on out of context materials purported to have been hacked or stolen from City Football Group and Manchester City personnel and associated people.”

Uefa announced last week it was investigating City for the potential breach of its Financial Fair Play rules, and the Premier League then followed suit by announcing its own investigation.