Chelsea can no longer operate like a normal football club following sanctions to Roman Abramovich
(Image credit: PA Images)
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK government. The move was largely expected, with the Russian-Israeli billionaire having passed control of the club onto a trust and outlined his intentions to sell the club.
But this move puts an end to any sale. In fact, it puts an end to many of the day-to-day operations that go on at Stamford Bridge.
The UK is the first nation to sanction the Blues owner – but what does this mean for the club?
1. Chelsea can no longer be sold
Abramovich had put Chelsea up for sale with a heartfelt message on the club's website, saying that he wanted only the best for the football side he'd owned for the past 19 years.
With a slew of bids from interested parties – believed to be around 300 – there was plenty of interest in the Blues, too. Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss outlined his intentions to head up a consortium to take over the club.
Abramovich's assets are now frozen under the move, though. He faces a prohibition on transactions with UK individuals and businesses – plus a travel ban forbidding him to enter the UK and watch his team play.
He is thus unable to profit from the sale of Chelsea Football Club – leaving them stuck in the limbo of his ownership.
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2. Chelsea fixtures will be fulfilled – but potentially with reduced capacity
(Image credit: PA)
"To ensure the club can continue to compete and operate we are issuing a special licence that will allow fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket holders to attend matches while, crucially, depriving Abramovich of benefiting from his ownership of the club," Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries claimed.
This means that only those who currently have tickets to Stamford Bridge could be allowed to attend matches. Chelsea may have to run at reduced capacity for the rest of the season as a result.
The sanctions could extend to the club shop having to close, too.
3. Chelsea essentially now have a transfer ban – and are unable to extend contracts
(Image credit: PA)
While staff continue to be paid, Dorries confirmed that under these sanctions, Chelsea will no longer be able to sign players. There is an expectation too, however, that they are not able to extend contracts either with the current sanctions.
With a number of key players expected to leave this summer, including Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, this could potentially leave the Blues in a similar situation to the one that they faced in 2019, when they were hit with a transfer ban. Back then, Frank Lampard came in as manager and the club relied on its youth reserves from the academy.
4. Things could still change quickly
Despite what looks like a nightmarish scenario for Chelsea, with the club essentially left to rot without being able to run properly, the government have assured fans that they consider this to be a special case.
"I know this brings some uncertainty, but the government will work with the league and clubs to keep football being played while ensuring sanctions hit those intended," Dorries said. "Football clubs are cultural assets and the bedrock of our communities. We're committed to protecting them."
The government have issued a statement that claims that Chelsea will "continue playing matches and other football-related activity which will, in turn, protect the Premier League, the wider pyramid, loyal fans and other clubs", adding that the licence will be kept "under constant review".
It is quite possible that more exceptions will be made to allow Chelsea to run more effectively.
Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.
