The owner of Chelsea, Roman Abramovich is officially no longer a director at the Premier League club days after the government of the United Kingdom froze the assets of the Russian billionaire.
The Premier League board announced in a statement that since the UK government has sanctioned the Russian billionaire, Abramovich was disqualified from being a director at the club.
Recall that on February 24, 2022, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ordered the country’s troops to invade Ukraine. Since the president made the order, there has been a series of reports claiming that Russia’s troops have killed a series of Ukrainian people.
Due to reports that Abramovich has ties with president Putin, everything linked to him in the UK has been frozen including Chelsea. But Chelsea has been given a special license to enable the club to continue to play their games.
However, they can not sell new tickets, they can not sell their kits, they can not renew contracts and they can not sign new players.
A statement from the Premier League club read: “Following the imposition of sanctions by the UK Government, the Premier League Board has disqualified Roman Abramovich as a Director of Chelsea Football Club. The Board’s decision does not impact on the club’s ability to train and play its fixtures, as set out under the terms of a license issued by the Government which expires on 31 May 2022.”
According to reports, Chelsea are no longer allowed to spend more than £20,000 on travel to away matches. They are no longer allowed to spend more than £500,000 on staging home games.
To enforce the sanction, Barclay’s bank has reportedly suspended Chelsea’s credit cards to prevent the Premier League club from breaching the government’s sanctions.
Roman Abramovich has been disqualified as director of Chelsea following the sanctions from UK government, Premier League statement reports. 🔵 #CFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 12, 2022
The sale of Chelsea is still on with or without Roman Abramovich
When Roman Abramovich’s was sanctioned earlier in the week by the UK government, the plan to sell Chelsea was placed on hold which brought about uncertainties at the club.
Recall that when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, and pressure on Chelsea and Roman Abramovich escalated, the Russian billionaire put Chelsea up for sale.
Abramovich placed a price tag of three billion pounds on Chelsea. But the process was halted when the UK government slammed a sanction on the Russian billionaire.
But on Thursday, some stakeholders at the club met with the UK government and the two bodies agreed to allow the bidding process to go on. This means that before the 2021-2022 Premier League season ends in May, Chelsea could have a new owner.
Abramovich has been the owner of Chelsea since 2003. In the last 19 years, the Russian billionaire has invested close to two billion pounds in the club. His investment has helped the club to win all the titles available in club football.
"Did you care, really, when Roman Abramovich came to Chelsea?"
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 12, 2022
Jürgen Klopp gives his view on Roman Abramovich's ownership of Chelsea. pic.twitter.com/qPXKKlkDAf
