Chelsea seek amendments to government licence in wake of Roman Abramovich sanctions

The Russian-Israeli oligarch was subjected to sanctions from the UK government on Thursday over his alleged links to president Vladimir Putin

Chelsea are seeking amendments to the government’s operating licence in a bid to function “as normal as possible” in the wake of the sanctions against owner Roman Abramovich.

The UK government sanctioned Abramovich on Thursday morning amid ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin, an association that the Chelsea owner has always strongly denied.

The move sees Chelsea frozen as an asset and puts on hold any plans for Abramovich to sell the club, although No 10 have since confirmed they are open to possibility of a sale so long as the Russian doesn’t benefit financially as a result.

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The club have been granted a licence to continue “football-related activities” for the remainder of the Premier League season albeit with caps on ticket sales and merchandise.

Stamford Bridge bosses will no doubt look for potential increases in travel costs to away matches - currently capped at £20,000 per trip - among other possible alterations to the current terms

“Chelsea Football Club has been advised that its owner Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK government,” read a statement.

“By virtue of his 100 per cent ownership of Chelsea FC plc and affiliated entities, Chelsea FC would normally be subject to the same sanctions regime as Mr Abramovich.

“However, the UK government has issued a general licence that permits Chelsea FC to continue certain activities.

“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. The club will update further when it is appropriate.”

Chelsea have been granted a licence to continue ‘football-related activities’ (EPA)

A host of parties have signalled interest in buying Chelsea and Downing Street have now confirmed the government could still oversee a sale.

Prime minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said: “We are now talking to Chelsea Football Club and those conversations will continue. It would be part of those discussions the terms of any specific licence that’s granted to allow any sale to proceed.

“The important thing is under no circumstances would any sale allow Roman Abramovich to profit from that or take any money from that sale.

“It’s fair to say the government is open to the sale of the club but currently it would require another licence and that would require further conversation with the Treasury and other departments.”

Chelsea will be subject to a transfer ban and be blocked from negotiating new contracts with current players, after all of Abramovich’s UK assets were frozen.

Defenders Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are all out of contract at the end of the season, leaving the senior trio in a state of short-term limbo.

Chelsea cannot sell any new tickets to supporters, but all tickets sold before 10 March will be honoured. Season ticket holders can still attend matches unaffected, while refreshments can still be served at Stamford Bridge.

The sanctions are club-wide meaning all Chelsea teams, including Emma Hayes’ highly-successful women’s team, are affected.

Chelsea matches can still be broadcast on television, while only existing club merchandise can be sold.

The Premier League earlier confirmed that Chelsea’s match against Norwich on Thursday night would go ahead as planned.

“The government has issued an initial licence to enable Chelsea FC to continue to train, play its fixtures and fulfil its obligations for the rest of the season,” a league statement read.

“The league will now work with the club and the government to ensure the season will proceed as planned and in line with the government’s intention.”