Roman Abramovich’s attempt to sell Chelsea has been halted after the oligarch was sanctioned by the UK government as part of its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian put the European champions up for sale after the threat of sanctions was raised in parliament.
The freezing of Abramovich’s assets, which include Chelsea, means the club cannot sell further match tickets.
The move is intended to stop Abramovich making money from Chelsea.
The government has issued a special licence that will allow fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket-holders to attend matches.
Chelsea have said they “intend to engage in discussions” with the government and will seek amendments to the special licence to “allow the club to operate as normal as possible”.
Chelsea will be unable to buy or sell players, or offer new contracts, while the sanctions are imposed on Abramovich. Chelsea-owned players who are on loan at other clubs will be able to continue to play for those clubs.
The London club’s merchandise shop has also been shut.
The sanctions have been imposed on a day that both Chelsea’s men’s and women’s teams are in action, with the Blues traveling to Norwich in the Premier League, while they play West Ham in the WSL.
The Premier League confirmed Chelsea’s match at Carrow Road “will go ahead” and added that it will “work with the club and the government to ensure the season will proceed as planned and in line with the government’s intention”.
The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust has called for the government “to minimise the uncertainty” and to include fans “in any conversation regarding ongoing impacts”.
As a result of the sanctions, the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee will hear from Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston, Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham and the Premier League’s chief policy and corporate affairs officer Helen MacNamara on Tuesday.
Since his purchase of the club in 2003, Chelsea have been transformed, setting the template for how much finance was needed to compete at the top end of English football.
In total, Abramovich has loaned the club more than £1.5bn, which has helped to bring great success.
Under Abramovich’s ownership, the club have won every major trophy possible – including the Champions League twice, both the Premier League and FA Cup five times, the Europa League twice and the League Cup three times.
In February, they won their first Club World Cup.
They have also won the Women’s Super League title four times, the Women’s FA Cup on three occasions and picked up the Women’s League Cup twice in the past eight years.
