Chelsea Accused of Being ‘Bigger and Worse Offenders’ Than Manchester City After 114 Charges Verdict

According to a report by Football London on October 20, 2026, former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has accused Chelsea of being “bigger and worse offenders” than Manchester City over financial rule breaches, arguing that the Blues benefited from years of heavy spending before tighter financial restrictions were introduced.

Jordan made the comments during an appearance on Piers Morgan’s Sports Uncensored after Manchester City were found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League. City have denied wrongdoing and appealed against the ruling.

The former Palace chairman questioned why Chelsea had not faced similar levels of public criticism, pointing to undisclosed payments made during Roman Abramovich’s ownership of the Stamford Bridge club.

“If you believe in fairness and Man City’s team have been assembled in an unfair way, but the interesting thing for me is that if you introduce unjust rules, don’t be surprised when people behave unjustly,” Jordan said.

He argued that Chelsea had been allowed to establish themselves among English football’s leading clubs through substantial investment before Manchester City entered the Premier League’s financial spotlight.

“Why isn’t there real rage about Chelsea? Chelsea were allowed to do what Man City were never allowed to do and yet, six years after they were allowed into the room, they still cheated,” he added.

Jordan continued by comparing the circumstances surrounding the two clubs, claiming Chelsea had enjoyed an advantage because they were already established before financial restrictions became more stringent.

“So Chelsea got in the room, got to spend what they want, Man City come along and then people went, ‘No, you can’t come in, we’re going to shut the door now,’” he said.

He then delivered his strongest criticism, declaring: “So Chelsea actually are bigger offenders and worse offenders than Man City. Because Man City weren’t ever allowed to be in the room and they’ve had to cheat to get in the room.”

Chelsea admitted breaches involving undisclosed payments associated with Abramovich’s ownership between 2011 and 2018. Reports said £47.5 million in payments were made by third parties connected to the former owner for Chelsea’s benefit, involving several player transfers and payments to former club officials.

Earlier in 2026, Chelsea received a £10.75 million fine and a suspended one-year first-team transfer ban over the breaches. The club also received an immediate nine-month academy transfer ban and a separate £750,000 fine relating to youth-player registration breaches.

However, the Premier League concluded that Chelsea would not have breached its profitability and sustainability rules even if the undisclosed payments had been included in the club’s financial submissions.

Chelsea’s cooperation and self-reporting were considered when the sanctions were determined. Meanwhile, Manchester City’s appeal against their verdict remains a separate matter.

Jordan concluded by calling for greater scrutiny of Chelsea, saying: “So when you think about it in those terms, start getting some ire about Chelsea as well.”

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