Mauricio Pochettino has said he is not worried about the possibility of Chelsea being punished for potential breaches of financial fair play regulations under the ownership of Roman Abramovich.
Experts believe a points deduction could be imposed after leaked files revealed a string of secret payments that may have contravened FFP rules. The transactions were made while Chelsea were owned by Abramovich, whose 19-year reign came to an end with a takeover by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital in the summer of 2022.
The Premier League and Football Association are investigating Chelsea’s finances across the 2012 to 2019 period and could bring charges. Everton were docked 10 points by the Premier League last week for breaching its profit and sustainability rules.
The investigations were sparked by Chelsea’s new ownership reporting that “incomplete financial information” had been submitted during Abramovich’s tenure. Uefa has fined the club £8.6m over the admission.
Pochettino said that he had not spoken to Boehly or Clearlake about the new allegations centring around Abramovich. “We didn’t talk about it,” Chelsea’s manager said. “It’s not my place to speak about.”
Pochettino was tight-lipped on the situation. Asked whether he was worried, he simply said: “No.” It was put to him that Chelsea could be stripped of the trophies they won under Abramovich, which would lead to the 2016-17 title being awarded to Tottenham.
Spurs, who were managed by Pochettino at the time, finished second to Chelsea in 2017. But Pochettino offered a nervous laugh when asked whether he would want that title to be awarded to him.
On a more immediate note, the Argentinian will serve a touchline ban when Chelsea visit Newcastle on Saturday afternoon. Pochettino picked up his third booking of the season in the 4-4 draw with Manchester City this month and revealed he would apologise to his squad by taking them for a barbecue dinner.
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The admission came after Nicolas Jackson, the Chelsea striker, said he was made to do extra running at training as a punishment for picking up five bookings and earning a one-match ban.
“He needed to run,” Pochettino said. “I am going to pay for a dinner. I am going to pay for a dinner because I get suspended now – because I cannot run. I would prefer to pay. I am taking the players and staff. It will be a lot [of money].”