EXCITING NEWS: TNG WhatsApp Channel is LIVE…
Subscribe for FREE to get LIVE NEWS UPDATE. Click here to subscribe!
Just as the Premier League club, Chelsea, was to celebrate its 117 years of existence, the UK government on Thursday imposed sanctions on its owner, Roman Abramovich.
Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government as part of a crackdown on Russian money, plunging the future of Chelsea into huge doubt.
The 55-year-old put Chelsea up for sale on March 2 in the wake of Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine.
Abramovich has owned Chelsea since 2003 and has always staunchly denied any current political links to Russia’s ruling elite, but Boris Johnson’s Government has now frozen all his UK assets.
Chelsea will be given a special licence to continue operation, but the sale of the Stamford Bridge club is now on hold.
The very shape of Chelsea’s long-term future has been thrown into doubt with restrictions on ticket sales, transfers and new contracts.
On the sanctions for Abramovich, Chelsea coach, Thomas Tuchel, said: “I don’t know if I am concerned… but we are aware of it. It changes almost everyday, so we cannot do much about it.
“I am still happy to be here and be a manager of a strong football team. I feel privileged.”
“We didn’t cause the situation, in the moment it seems like business is more or less protected, but let’s see.”
Under the terms of a special licence granted to Chelsea as part of the sanctions imposed on Chelsea owner, spending on match day stewards, security and catering has been capped at £500,000.
That figure is considerably less than what it has historically cost to put on a game at Stamford Bridge.
The European champions have also been ordered to cap the amount they spend on travel to away games to £20,000 per match, putting the defence of their Champions League title in doubt.
Chelsea announced in a statement they intended to hold talks with the government to ask them to amend the licence “to allow the club to operate as normally as possible”.
Abramovich’s UK assets have been frozen and a travel ban put in place on him and the Blues players were equally taken by surprise.