Crisis at Chelsea: Sale canceled, main sponsor withdrawn

The sale of Chelsea Football Club in the Premier League has been suspended as a result of the new sanctions taken by the British government against Russian owner Roman Abramovich.

“The restrictions imposed by the asset freeze also apply to all entities owned or controlled by Roman Abramovich,” it said in a statement. “This means that Chelsea Football Club is also subject to an asset freeze due to UK financial sanctions.”

Chelsea Football Club announced on its website, that it has been informed of the British sanctions imposed on Abramovich. The club confirms that the men’s and women’s team matches against Norwich and West Ham, respectively, will continue on Thursday. The Premier League club also plans to discuss the scope of the measures with the British government. This will include the issue of modifying the license so that the club can operate as normally as possible.

Effects

Meanwhile, Red Devil Romelu Lukaku’s team has been given permission to continue playing matches, but is saddled with penalties and is appealing to the British government to amend the restrictions. For example, Chelsea had to close the fan store and could no longer sell tickets for home games. Subscribers are still welcome at Stamford Bridge. It is also not possible to pick up players or extend contracts at the moment, a loss for Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta, among others.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, shirt sponsor Three also announced on Thursday that he was withdrawing from the club. “The sponsorship is suspended at the moment, which also means that our logo will not be on the shirts and on the field,” the statement said. “We are aware that this decision will have an impact on many ardent Chelsea fans, but given the circumstances, we believe this is the best option. To help the Ukrainian people, we want to focus on communication so that refugees arriving in the UK can stay in touch with relatives and friends.”