Today marks 117 years of founding Chelsea FC and it is only ironically appropriate for the UK Government sanctions to strike the London Blues on this day. The future of European champions Chelsea has been plunged into doubt after Russian owner Roman Abramovich was hit with vetos left and right in response to the invasion of Ukraine.The billionaire – described by the UK government as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle – had already signaled his intent to sell Chelsea due to the looming threat of sanctions.UK Culture Secretary Nadine Dorris said the priority was to “hold those who have enabled the Putin regime to account”.”Today’s sanctions obviously have a direct impact on Chelsea and its fans,” she tweeted. “We have been working hard to ensure the club & the national game are not unnecessarily harmed by these important sanctions.”Chelsea, who are in Premier League action against Norwich later on Thursday, have been given a special license to continue to operate.Want to run the club? You can’t! Want to sell it? Well, you can’t! Want to make money? No way, Roman!But even that license imposes some tough restrictions on a club still in the running for the Champions League and FA Cup this season and sitting third in the Premier League.The freezing of Abramovich’s assets means any sale of the club appears on hold for now.”Chelsea Football Club is now also subject to an asset freeze under UK financial sanctions,” said the government’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.A number of interested bidders have signaled their interest, although many believed Abramovich’s reported 4 billion USD asking price was unrealistic.In a statement, the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust (CST) said: “The CST notes with concern the government’s statement regarding the owner. Supporters MUST be involved in any conversation regarding ongoing impacts on the club and its global fan base.”Seven Kenyan wonder kids in European academiesChelsea’s license allows the club to continue paying staff and costs for the hosting of matches at Stamford Bridge.However, travel costs for away games have been capped at 26,000 USD per match, which could cause issues for away matches in the Champions League, with Chelsea set to travel to Lille in France next week.Chelsea can also continue to pay money they owe for transfer agreements made prior to March 10, 2022.However, no exception has been granted for the recruitment of new players or agreeing new contracts.Captain Cesar Azpilicueta and key defender Antonio Rudiger, among those out of contract at the end of the season, could leave on a free transfer.Thu 22:30: (9.00) Norwich (4.70) Chelsea (1.37)The license, though, only runs until May 31 and could be revised by the time the transfer window reopens.Season-ticket holders at Stamford Bridge will be allowed to attend matches, but no ticket or merchandise sales that would mean funds going to the club are permitted.That could mean away fans are shut out of Stamford Bridge and Chelsea supporters are blocked from traveling to away games.The money due to the club from highly lucrative television contracts for the Premier League and Champions League can be paid to Chelsea.However, that cash is to be frozen, raising the question of how the club will continue to meet its payroll demands in the coming months.Despite winning the Champions League last season, Chelsea made a 200 million USD loss in the year to June 30, 2021. That was due to a £309 million wage bill even before the club-record signing of Romelu Lukaku for £97 in August.Statement from Chelsea Football Club.— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 10, 2022 Abramovich rose from a penniless background in Russia’s frozen north to become a multi-billionaire and a celebrity football tycoon, but his empire is teetering on collapse after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.The UK government’s decision to freeze his assets cripples the activities of Chelsea Football Club, the jewel in Abramovich’s crown, and delivers another crushing blow to his business realm.As speculation swirled that he was about to be targeted over his alleged Kremlin links, Abramovich announced he was selling the Premier League side “in the best interest of the club, the fans, the employees, as well as the club’s sponsors and partners”Abramovich, 55, was one of the businessmen working in the shadows following the collapse of the Soviet Union, seizing control of lucrative state assets at bargain prices. He had made money early on with a firm making rubber toys, after growing up an orphan from a Jewish family in the harsh far north. He is now worth 12.4 billion USD, according to Forbes magazine, and as well as turning Chelsea into a European powerhouse has stakes in steel giant Evraz and Norilsk Nickel.In September 2005, he received a gargantuan cash boost with the 13 billion USD sale of Sibneft to state-owned gas behemoth Gazprom, enabling Russian President Vladimir Putin to regain control of strategic assets. Unlike other oligarchs who tried to take on Putin’s Kremlin, such as his old business partner Boris Berezovsky, Abramovich has kept a low political profile. His loyalty to Putin was rewarded with the governorship of the vast, far-eastern Chukotka region, analysts say.Hold on, Britons have their own candidate for Chelsea purchaseAfter Berezovsky fell out of favour with the Putin regime, Abramovich took over his stake in the country’s largest television network in 2001. Berezovsky died in unexplained circumstances near London in 2013.Last year, Abramovich accepted an apology and rewrites after suing the British author and publisher of a book about the rise of Putin’s inner circle.The bestselling book “Putin’s People” included claims by former Putin associate Sergei Pugachev that Abramovich had bought Chelsea in 2003 on the president’s orders, in a bid to increase Russian influence.Abramovich’s daughter Sofia has distanced herself from Russia’s actions, writing on Instagram that “the biggest and most successful lie of Kremlin’s propaganda is that most Russians stand with Putin”. She shared a meme containing the sentence “Russia wants a war with Ukraine”, with “Russia” crossed out and replaced with “Putin”.Blue day for the Blues: Reece James suffers another injury setbackAbramovich himself also sought to put clear water between himself and the Kremlin, and announced that profits from the sale of Chelsea will go to “victims of the war in Ukraine”.”I hope that I will be able to visit Stamford Bridge one last time to say goodbye… in person,” he said last week.In a rare media interview, with The Observer newspaper in December 2006, Abramovich disagreed that money could buy happiness, saying instead it could buy “some independence”.He mused: “There is a Russian proverb: you never say that you’ll never be in jail or never be poor.”Chelsea said Thursday they were pressing for talks with the UK government after their owner was hit with a UK assets freeze and travel ban.Interest in Chelsea buyout is growing – another NBA franchise owner and an Arab consortium emerge as new suitorsThe club said in a statement it would fulfil its upcoming fixtures but indicated restrictions imposed on its day-to-day operations under a special licence were too harsh.”This will include seeking permission for the licence to be amended in order to allow the club to operate as normal as possible,” it added.There’s an awful lot to be digested in next few hours re: ChelseaAnd sanctions will be reviewed in MayBut if at the end of all this they end up in administration, they will receive a 9 point penalty— Rob Draper (@draper_rob) March 10, 2022
