Agence France Presse

London, March 24:

The English Premier League have issued formal charges against Chelsea over an alleged illegal approach to Arsenal’s left-back Ashley Cole. The move comes after several weeks of evidence gathering over an alleged meeting between Chelsea representatives, Cole and his agent Jonathan Barnett at a London hotel. As a result, Chelsea have been charged with an illegal approach, manager Jose Mourinho has been charged with misconduct and Cole himself has been charged with a breach of the rules governing approaches to players. “Consequently, the board will be asking for a formal response to these charges within 14 days and have begun the process of appointing a three-person independent commission, in accordance with their disciplinary procedures, to determine this matter,” the league said in a statement. “The board wish to state that they have so far received co-operation from Chelsea FC, Mourinho and Cole and expect this to continue.” Barnett and Pini Zahavi, another agent allegedly involved in the affair, were not charged as they come under the jurisdiction of the Football Association rather than the Premier League.