Premier League Clubs Hit With UEFA Fines
Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Chelsea have all been fined by UEFA after being found in breach of the governing body’s financial sustainability requirements.
UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) First Chamber has announced a series of disciplinary measures following its assessment of clubs competing in the 2025/26 UEFA club competitions, with four Premier League sides among those sanctioned.
Aston Villa received the largest sanction of the English clubs after breaching UEFA’s squad cost rule, with the Midlands club fined €22.5m. Of that amount, €15m is conditional, meaning it will only become payable if the club fails to meet the requirements set by UEFA.
Newcastle United was sanctioned under two separate parts of UEFA’s financial sustainability framework. The club agreed to a three-year settlement after failing to comply with the football earnings rule, receiving a €10m fine, of which €7m is conditional. Newcastle was also fined €3m for breaching the squad cost rule.
Chelsea was handed a €3m fine for exceeding the squad cost ratio limit, with €2m of that total conditional, whilst Nottingham Forest was fined €2.5m after also reporting a squad cost ratio above the permitted threshold.
UEFA said the squad cost rule fines were calculated in proportion to the percentage points above the 70% limit and the size of each club’s excess. Aston Villa was also identified as having committed a significant breach, which means the club will be subject to a restriction on the registration of new players on its List A for the 2026/27 UEFA club competition season.
Newcastle’s case was wider than the squad cost rule, with the club also entering a settlement agreement under the football earnings rule. That agreement runs for three years and requires the club to achieve full compliance by the end of the 2028/29 season, covering the financial years ending in 2026, 2027 and 2028.
Under the terms of such settlement agreements, clubs may face financial penalties, restrictions on registering new players for UEFA competitions and further sporting measures if annual targets are not met.
UEFA said conditional elements of the fines will depend on whether the clubs continue to improve their financial position and reduce their squad cost ratios in line with projections.
The CFCB First Chamber also noted that Aston Villa and Chelsea had already been sanctioned in the previous season, and that the improving trend in their squad cost ratios between 2024 and 2025 was taken into account when determining the conditional portions of their fines.
The sanctions form part of a wider UEFA announcement covering 14 clubs found to have breached financial sustainability requirements. Other clubs fined included RC Strasbourg, Juventus, OGC Nice, Fenerbahçe, Fiorentina, AEK Athens, Santa Clara, FC Astana and FK Partizan.
Any final reasoned and binding decisions from the CFCB are expected to be published by UEFA in due course.
