Chelsea have added to Portsmouth's problems by rejecting their request for more time to pay the £750,000 still owed from Glen Johnson's transfer to Fratton Park, reports the Daily Mail.
Portsmouth, who are £35m in debt, agreed to pay £3m for Johnson when they signed him from Chelsea in 2007 but they still haven't paid up in full, despite selling the player for Liverpool for £18m in July.
Premier League chiefs are now set to withhold the £7.5m television money due in January in order to settle the south coast club's missed payments.
Portsmouth have asked the Premier League to lift their current transfer embargo - but the ban will remain in place until they can prove they are in a position to pay all of their outstanding transfer debt.