Chelsea are facing up to the fallout of owner Roman Abramovich being sanctioned for his links to Vladimir Putin, as the UK government continues to add to the pressure on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Described as a pro-Kremlin oligarch, Abramovich has been hit with an asset freeze and a travel ban in an updated sanctions list published on Thursday, with Chelsea included as one of his assets - but being handed special permission to continue operating as a football club.
Even so, it’s nowhere near business as usual, with a ban on match tickets or club merchandise being sold, amongst other measures. Chelsea were then left facing further uncertainty on Friday after the club’s credit cards were temporarily suspended.
The proposed sale of the club is also now barred under the terms of the freeze, although the government are “open” to receiving proposals from interested parties, though Abramovich himself is now entirely unlikely to directly profit from such a sale. There is also still the issue to overcome of him being owed £1.5bn by the club, although he has stated he will write off that debt.
Chelsea responded to the off-field chaos with wins over Norwich and West Ham in the Premier League and Women’s Super League respectively, but Friday merely brought further news of unrest as it is reported that kit supplier Nike may follow main sponsor Three in suspending their deal with the Stamford Bridge club.
