Chelsea, Villa, Forest and Newcastle fined by UEFA for breaching financial regulations

Chelsea, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle have all been fined by UEFA for breaching its Financial Sustainability Regulations covering the 2025 calendar year, with the four Premier League clubs facing a combined penalty of more than €20m in immediate payments.

Newcastle received the largest active sanction among the four, fined €3m for exceeding UEFA’s Football Earnings threshold and a further €3m for breaching the 70 per cent Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) target — a measure that caps player wage and transfer costs relative to club turnover. A further €7m has been suspended pending future compliance. Chief executive David Hopkinson and chief financial officer Simon Capper travelled to Switzerland to negotiate with UEFA, and the club views the outcome as a positive one. Newcastle said in a statement that they had “worked closely and constructively” with UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) to resolve the matter and are “committed to full ongoing compliance.”

The club has already sold Anthony Gordon to Barcelona this summer and, despite reported interest from Manchester City and Tottenham in Sandro Tonali and from Arsenal in Bruno Guimaraes, Newcastle insist the fine does not compel them to make further sales.

Aston Villa, who won the Europa League this season, face a €7.5m fine but could be hit with an additional €15m penalty if their financial position does not improve. Villa were also fined €11m last year and will face a restriction on registering new players for their upcoming Champions League campaign.

Nottingham Forest, who reached the Europa League semi-finals, were fined €2.5m. Chelsea, who were sanctioned €30m last season, received a comparatively modest €1m fine with a further €2m suspended. The club said the outcome reflected an “improving trend” in their squad cost ratio and demonstrated progress towards compliance with UEFA’s rules.

UEFA confirmed it had taken that improving trajectory into account when assessing both Chelsea and Villa, noting the CFCB First Chamber considered the direction of travel in their squad cost ratios between seasons when determining the level of sanction.