Jordan names Chelsea as 'bigger and worse offenders' than City after 114-charge verdict

Former Premier League chairman Simon Jordan has publicly named Chelsea as ‘bigger and worse offenders’ than Manchester City in the wake of City being found guilty of 114 of the 115 financial charges brought against them by the Premier League.

City have denied any wrongdoing and lodged an appeal against the verdict. But Jordan, speaking on Piers Morgan’s Sports Uncensored, shifted focus to Chelsea, arguing the club’s rule-breaking under Roman Abramovich’s ownership deserves equal — if not greater — scrutiny.

“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. “Why there is real rage about Chelsea? Chelsea were allowed to do what Man City were never allowed to do.”

Jordan’s argument centres on Chelsea’s acknowledged financial violations during the Abramovich era. The club admitted to £47.5m in undisclosed payments made between 2011 and 2018 by third-party entities linked to the former owner, for Chelsea’s benefit. According to The Times, the payments were connected to deals involving Eden Hazard, Willian, Ramires, David Luiz, André Schurrle, Nemanja Matic and Samuel Eto’o, among others, as well as former director of football Frank Arnesen and scout Piet de Visser.

Earlier this year, Chelsea were fined £10.75m and handed a suspended one-year first-team transfer ban over those violations. The club also received an immediate nine-month academy transfer ban and a separate £750,000 fine for breaches related to youth player registrations. Chelsea’s self-reporting and co-operation with investigators were taken into account when sanctions were determined.

The Premier League also concluded that Chelsea would not have breached its profitability and sustainability regulations even if the undisclosed payments had been correctly declared in their financial submissions — a finding that informed the relatively limited punishment.

Jordan’s broader contention is that Chelsea benefited from Abramovich’s unchecked spending before stricter financial controls were introduced, winning 21 trophies during his tenure including five Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues, and that their subsequent rule-breaking has not generated proportionate outrage compared to the reaction to City’s charges.