Roman Abramovich sanctions: Chelsea have credit cards temporarily frozen
Chelsea's problems continue to mount after the Premier League side had several credit cards temporarily frozen during bank assessments of the club’s new operating licence, according to reports. The UK government hit the club's owner Roman Abramovich with sanctions on Thursday, freezing all the Russian billionaire's British assets.
The European and world club champions continuing to operate under special, stringent conditions after the British government claimed to have proven Abramovich’s links to Russian president Vladimir Putin. Abramovich, 55, has always denied links to Russia’s current regime, but Putin’s war in Ukraine has led to a major geopolitical shift. Chelsea’s strict licence is designed to ensure Abramovich will not profit amid the Stamford Bridge club’s continued operations, with ticket sales banned and an embargo on new transfers and new contracts for existing stars. Even the club shop has been forced to shut.
Chelsea expect negotiations with Downing Street to continue into next week as the two parties thrash out an easing of the restrictions.
The Premier League club will seek a relaxation of limits like the £20,000 travel cap for away matches for example, with a typical Premier League spend far closer to £30,000 per match. The £20,000 cap would almost certainly place their Champions League tie against Lille in France in jeopardy.
Chelsea are thought to have their travel and accommodation bills already paid for the rest of this season for existing fixtures, but this does not cover cup competitions. The Blues are slated to face Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday, March 19. Under the current rules, Chelsea cannot sell any new tickets for that match, which would severely hit Championship club Middlesbrough’s gate revenue.
Chelsea cannot sell any new match programmes for Sunday’s Premier League home clash with Newcastle United, so vendors are thought to be unable to work at Stamford Bridge.
Abramovich put Chelsea up for sale on March 2, amid Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine, with his ownership set to end after 19 years and 18 major trophies. Abramovich had pledged to write off the club’s £1.5 billion debt and plough all sale proceeds into a new charitable foundation to aid victims of the war in Ukraine.
Chelsea’s current licence terms have paused the club’s sale, but the Government is understood to be ready to take control of the process, or oversee a transfer of ownership carried out by Abramovich. The government’s sanctions will continue to demand that Abramovich does not profit at all from Chelsea, but the hiatus has not deterred the throng of prospective new owners.
British property tycoon Nick Candy remains interested in bidding for the Champions League holders.A spokesperson for Candy on Friday confirmed the 49-year-old’s continued interest in Chelsea. “We are examining the details of yesterday’s announcement and we are still interested in making a bid,” said Candy’s spokesperson. “Clearly this is a time of great uncertainty for all Chelsea fans. “In our view, no one is the owner of a football club – you are the custodian of it for the fans and the community.”
A host of US investors still harbour interest in Chelsea, with Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly part of one consortium and Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts another with a strongly-rumoured interest. Shirt sponsor Three said on Thursday that it was suspending its partnership with Chelsea, but travel company Trivago was pledging to continue to support the club in the “transition to new ownership”.
Despite turmoil off the pitch, Chelsea continue to flourish on it. Thursday's 3-1 win over bottom-club Norwich City was a fourth successive win in the Premier League to keep them third in the table. The Blues take on an in-form Newcastle at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Source: www.thenationalnews.com
