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Football London
Football London
Sport
Louie Chandler

Chelsea have credit cards temporarily frozen as Roman Abramovich sanctions continue

Chelsea have reportedly had several of their credit cards temporarily frozen as they continue to feel the effects of government sanctions on Roman Abramovich.

Thursday morning saw the government announce that Abramovich was among the latest figures to be sanctioned for having connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It comes as the Kremlin continues its invasion of Ukraine and, although Abramovich has always denied those connections, he has been deemed worthy of sanctions, having his UK assets frozen.

This includes Chelsea, a club he has owned for 19 years, leaving many fans and employees in a state of concern.

The sanctions mean that the Blues are unable to carry out any activities that would see money coming into the club, including the sale of merchandise and match tickets.

It has also seen sponsors reassess their involvement with the club, with shirt sponsor Three requesting their logo be removed from the front of the team's shirts.

Now, it's been reported that a number of the club's credit cards have been frozen.

football.london understands not all of the club's accounts have been affected, and that the club hopes the cards impacted will be unfrozen soon.

The sanctions dictated that business could no longer be done with Abramovich after the Russian billionaire had his assets frozen because of alleged links to Vladimir Putin. The oligarch has always denied such allegations.

Chelsea remain hopeful that any suspension will be lifted shortly, however.

In a club statement released by the club in response to the sanctions on Thursday, Chelsea said: "Chelsea Football Club has been advised that its owner Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK Government.

"By virtue of his 100 per cent ownership of Chelsea FC plc and affiliated entities, Chelsea FC would normally be subject to the same sanctions regime as Mr Abramovich.

"However, the UK Government has issued a general licence that permits Chelsea FC to continue certain activities.

"We will fulfil our men's and women's team fixtures today against Norwich and West Ham, respectively, and intend to engage in discussions with the UK Government regarding the scope of the licence.

"This will include seeking permission for the licence to be amended in order to allow the Club to operate as normal as possible.

"We will also be seeking guidance from the UK Government on the impact of these measures on the Chelsea Foundation and its important work in our communities.

"The Club will update further when it is appropriate to do so."

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