Chelsea shirt sponsors Three are said to be reviewing the situation regarding the club and are in discussions following the sanctions placed on owner Roman Abramovich.
The 55-year-old faced sanctions on Thursday morning from the UK Government, placing a freeze on all of his UK assets.
The Government report described the billionaire as a “pro-Kremlin oligarch”, claiming he has had links to Russian President Vladimir Putin for decades.
The freezing of Abramovich’s assets has put the immediate future of Chelsea Football Club into doubt, restricting the club on how it can trade going forward under a new “Russia Regulations” that lasts until the end of May.
For the Blues, it means that fans will not be able to buy tickets, meaning only those with a ticket bought in advance or a season ticket will be able to attend home games. This also means that away fans will not be able to attend games at Stamford Bridge.
Merchandise will not be able to be sold unless the stand already has said merchandise available to sell. Catering is available at the stadium for those attending, but the club cannot spend more than £500,000 on hosting a match.
The club cannot offer new contracts to players and they also cannot sign anyone, though salaries to all staff can be paid. Away travel can only amount to a maximum of £20,000.
It has also put into doubt the sale of the club as the license would currently block it going through - though there is a way the club could potentially navigate that decision.
As a result, a spokesperson for Chelsea shirt sponsor Three told The Athletic : "We are reviewing the situation and are in discussions with Chelsea FC."
It is reported that the deal with Three is comparable to that of previous sponsor Yokohama, at roughly £40million-a-year.
It puts yet more doubt over how the club may operate going forward.
Conrad Wiacek, Head of Sport Analysis at GloblalData, states that: "Chelsea FC is still one of the biggest clubs in the world and its on-field success still makes it an attractive commercial partner.
"However, given the rate at which many brands are looking to dissociate themselves from the Russian state, some may be wary of continuing partnerships.
"Nike’s deal with Chelsea runs until 2032, so the apparel brand may decide to wait the situation out until the club’s sale is able to continue.
"However, brands such as Hyundai and Hublot, which have deals worth over $20 million combined expiring at the end of 2021/22 season, may not have that luxury."
The situation is covered in doubts and it is unclear as to what is next for Chelsea as a club, though for the team they have a match against Norwich later.
It remains to be seen what will happen, though it may become clearer as the days go by.
