Butschettino calls for Chelsea to be stripped of the 2017 title

Chelsea were fined $10 million in July last year and banned from making any transfers during two consecutive transfer windows for breaching Premier League rules during the tenure of former Russian owner Roman Abramovich.

The club admitted to committing 74 violations of English Football Association regulations, relating to player agents, dealings with intermediaries, and third-party investments in players.

Current owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital voluntarily reported these infractions to football authorities in 2022, while finalizing the purchase of the club from Russian billionaire Abramovich.

The violations involved transfer deals for Belgian Eden Hazard, Brazilians Willian and David Luiz, and Serbian Nemanja Matic to Stamford Bridge. These signings played a pivotal role in the Blues’ title triumph in the 2016-2017 season under Italian manager Antonio Conte.

Mauricio Pochettino, whose Tottenham side finished the season then seven points behind Chelsea, believes the sanctions imposed by authorities were far from sufficient.

Speaking to journalists, he said: “We should have won the Premier League title, and the championship should have been awarded to us.”

He added, “If what happened is true, we deserve to be champions that year, certainly. They were punished and admitted to the violations, didn’t they? If that’s the case, the title should go to the team that finished second.”