Archive · 10 Sep 2026
Pochettino Urges Chelsea Title Stripping, Spurs Awarded Retrospectively
Chelsea won the 2016-17 Premier League season, while Tottenham finished second.
Chelsea earned 93 points, and Tottenham earned 86.
Chelsea later admitted breaking football rules in 74 cases.
The cases involved agents, intermediaries and payments connected to player deals.
Chelsea’s owners reported the possible problems to football authorities in 2022.
The club received a large fine and transfer restrictions.
Mauricio Pochettino, who coached Tottenham that season, says Tottenham should now receive the title.
He argues the teams did not compete under the same rules.
Football authorities have not been reported as transferring the title to Tottenham.
Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea should lose the 2016-17 Premier League title and Tottenham should receive it.
Chelsea defeated Tottenham by seven points, winning with 93 points to Spurs’ 86.
Chelsea admitted 74 Football Association breaches involving agents, intermediaries and third-party investments.
The breaches, self-reported in 2022, involved deals connected to Eden Hazard, Willian, David Luiz and Nemanja Matic.
Reports differ on the fine’s timing and amount, while sanctions included suspended first-team and immediate academy transfer bans.
- Who
- Former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, Chelsea Football Club, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and football authorities are central to the dispute.
- What
- Pochettino called for Chelsea to be stripped of the 2016-17 Premier League title and for Tottenham to be awarded it.
- When
- The disputed season was 2016-17; Chelsea self-reported the potential breaches in 2022, while reports date the fine and sanctions to March or July.
- Where
- The dispute concerns the English Premier League, where Chelsea finished ahead of Tottenham.
- Why
- Pochettino argues Chelsea’s admitted rule breaches meant Tottenham did not compete under equal conditions and might have built a stronger team under the same rules.
Pochettino’s Position
Chelsea’s Existing Punishment
Who should hold the title?
Pochettino’s Position
Pochettino says Tottenham Hotspur Football Club should be awarded the 2016-17 title because Chelsea admitted breaching competition rules.
Chelsea’s Existing Punishment
Chelsea Football Club accepted financial and transfer-related sanctions, but the reports do not say that football authorities reassigned the title to Tottenham.
Competitive advantage
Pochettino’s Position
Pochettino argues Tottenham did not compete under the same rules and might have signed players who could have improved the team.
Chelsea’s Existing Punishment
The reports establish that Chelsea admitted rule breaches and received sanctions, but they do not establish that the breaches directly determined the title result.
Adequacy of punishment
Pochettino’s Position
Pochettino says the punishment did not go far enough and questions why the title was not transferred to the second-place team.
Chelsea’s Existing Punishment
Chelsea Football Club accepted the reported fine and transfer restrictions and agreed to pay the costs of the league investigation, according to one report.
- Disputed title
- Chelsea Football Club’s 2016-17 Premier League championship
- Final standings
- Chelsea finished with 93 points and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club with 86, a seven-point difference
- Admitted breaches
- 74 Football Association regulations involving agents, intermediaries and third-party investment in players
- Self-reporting
- The possible breaches were reported to football authorities in 2022
- Deals mentioned
- The reports connect the breaches to deals involving Eden Hazard, Willian, David Luiz and Nemanja Matic
- Reported fine
- One report gives a March fine of £10.75 million, while other reports describe a July fine of £10 million
- Reported sanctions
- The reports describe a suspended first-team transfer ban and an immediate nine-month academy transfer ban, or a suspended two-window ban
Sources
Chelsea Should Be Stripped of 2016-17 Premier League Title, Says Pochettino
Former Tottenham Hotspur Manager Mauricio Pochettino Drops Bombshell, Says Chelsea Should Be Stripped Of 2017 Premier League Title
Pochettino demands Chelsea's 2016-17 Premier League title be awarded to Tottenham