The UK government has added Roman Abramovich to a list of sanctioned individuals in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian billionaire’s assets have been frozen, which means he won’t be able to sell Chelsea as planned.
The Blues were put up for sale on March 2 by Abramovich, who is said to have close relations to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The European and world champions have been granted a special athletic license to continue operating, but their financial situation will be badly harmed.
This includes being unable to sell tickets, which means that for the foreseeable future, only season ticket holders will be allowed to attend games at Stamford Bridge, as well as closing the club shop.
With a number of players, notably captain Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen, out of contract in the summer, it’s unclear how the latest event will influence the squad.
A Government statement confirmed: “Given the significant impact that today’s sanctions would have on Chelsea and the potential knock-on effects of this, the Government has this morning published a licence which authorises a number of football-related activities to continue at Chelsea.
“This includes permissions for the club to continue playing matches and other football-related activity which will in turn protect the Premier League, the wider football pyramid, loyal fans and other clubs.
“This licence will only allow certain explicitly named actions to ensure the designated individual is not able to circumvent UK sanctions. The licence will be kept under constant review and we will work closely with the football authorities.”
Source: Livescore news
Hmmm
So sad for Chelsea