The course of this season's Championship title race could be dramatically altered if the runaway leaders Queens Park Rangers are docked points after being charged with seven serious breaches of Football Association rules.

The FA has alleged that QPR fielded a player, the Argentinian midfielder Alejandro Faurlin, for a full season in 2009-10 while his registration was not owned by the club but by a third party. That, the FA alleges, breached the rule introduced in July 2009 following the Carlos Tevez affair, which prohibited English clubs from fielding players owned wholly or in part by third‑party interests.

West Ham United were fined £5.5m by an independent Premier League commission in 2007 for breaching regulations when signing Tevez, a decision widely criticised as not severe enough because West Ham were not docked points. By a twist of fate the manager of Sheffield United, who went down in 2006-07 and then sued West Ham because the latter had stayed up with Tevez's help, was Neil Warnock, now manager of QPR. At the time Warnock argued publicly that West Ham should have been docked points.

West Ham were not charged then with breaching the prohibition on third‑party ownership because that rule was not yet in place. Their disciplinary case was brought by the Premier League for their failure to supply all relevant documentation in a transfer and acting in bad faith, two charges applied to QPR on Wednesday.

QPR, seven points clear of Swansea City at the top of the Championship, are charged with breaching four rules for fielding Faurlin while he was owned by a third party. The FA is understood to allege Faurlin's owner was a company, but the governing body did not disclose the company's identitywhen announcing the charges.

QPR were also charged with "using or seeking to pay an unauthorised agent" when the player was signed in July 2009. The FA did not say who the unauthorised agent was but the governing body considers it a serious offence for a club to deal with anybody in a transfer who is not licensed as an agent under Fifa regulations.

The club and its chairman, Gianni Paladini, were also charged with submitting false information in documents lodged with the FA when Faurlin signed an extension to his playing contract in October 2010. All players' contracts with clubs have to be sent to the FA and it is understood that this seventh charge also relates to dealing with an unauthorised agent.

Just one of these charges on its own could produce heavy penalties, including swingeing fines and points deduction. In June 2008 Luton Town were docked 10 points by an FA disciplinary commission for breaches of rules which included dealing with unlicensed agents in four transfers, none as substantial or high profile as that of Faurlin. No club has yet been charged for breaching the prohibition on third‑party ownership introduced in 2009, so the FA commission hearing the QPR case will be under pressure to set a convincing precedent if it upholds the charges. The FA will be keen to have the case decided soon, so that any penalty will come into effect this season.

Faurlin has made a major impact at Loftus Road, having been the QPR players' and supporters' player of the year in his first season last year, and is a regular in Warnock's side this season.

The alleged ownership of his registration by an outside company is understood to have come to light last summer after the Football League introduced its own rules barring third‑party ownership. QPR approached the league, saying they wanted to buy out Faurlin's registration, and the league is understood to have then referred the club to the FA.

QPR issued a statement on Wednesday saying the club and Paladini will be "denying all of the charges and requesting a formal FA hearing to determine them. QPR and Mr Paladini are confident that there has been no deliberate wrongdoing involved".

Paladini said he could not elaborate and the club has appointed lawyers to defend the charges. "I am happy with the way we acted," he said. "I do not think we have anything to worry about."