(Football news) Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the United Kingdom government, which means that the Russian oligarch will be unable to sell the club under the circumstances. The sanctions placed on Abramovich means that his assets have been frozen, he is not allowed to undergo transactions with UK individuals or businesses, is subjected to a travel ban and transport sanctions.
The objective of these sanctions is to stop Roman Abramovich from earning money in the UK. There is a possibility of a future sale of Chelsea FC but only as long as Abramovich does not profit from the sale in any way. As things stand, the government has provided a special licence to Chelsea in order for the team to fulfil its existing fixtures, pay salaries to its workers and allow existing season ticket holders to attend matches.
The sanctions placed on Chelsea FC are as follows:
1) The club can’t provide new contracts to players and staff. This means that players such as Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta will be free agents by June 30th.
2) The club can’t take part in any transfer activity for the men’s and women’s team.
3) The club can’t sell new tickets for any of its games, including the women’s and junior teams. Only existing season ticket holders and ticket holders will be permitted to enter the stadium on match days.
4) No stadium work or redevelopment can take place.
5) The club can’t sell its merchandise to fans.
6) The club are limited in their expenditures with a cap of £20,000 in expenses for away games and £500,000 on security, stewarding and catering costs per home match.
An official statement by the United Kingdom government said “Given the significant impact that today's sanctions would have on Chelsea football club and the potential knock-on effects of this, the Government has this morning published a licence which authorises a number of football-related activities to continue at Chelsea.
“This includes permissions for the club to continue playing matches and other football-related activity which will in turn protect the Premier League, the wider football pyramid, loyal fans and other clubs. This licence will only allow certain explicitly named actions to ensure the designated individual is not able to circumvent UK sanctions. The licence will be kept under constant review and we will work closely with the football authorities."
Chelsea FC released a statement which said “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."
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