Chelsea dealt damning blow as UK government sanctions Roman Abramovich

Chelsea frozen after UK Government sanction on Roman Abramovich assets

According to Miguel Delaney, the chief football writer of The Independent, the UK Government has frozen Chelsea following their decision to sanction Roman Abramovich by seizing his assets in England. The stance was made after Russia had declared war on Ukraine under the order of Vladimir Putin.

Abramovich has close ties to Putin and his regime in Russia, which are currently at war with Ukraine. The Blues chief had put the club for sale, fearing the risk of a sanction, but that has now been barred following the Government’s decision. However, the club have received the sporting license to work as usual sans a few restrictions in their day-to-day running.

However, the London based club can no longer sell tickets which would greatly affect their finances from now on. Only season ticket holders can attend the games at Stamford Bridge from now on unless a change is made by the Government. Moreover, there will be no supporters from here on out to represent them at away stadiums dealing further blows to the club.

Uncertain times

Fans would undoubtedly be worried about the club’s future at this moment after the Government has decided to freeze Abramovich’s assets. The club’s finances could be affected by the supporters’ inability to purchase tickets from here on out. The club officials must find a solution soon enough before this sanction hurts our long-term interests.

This update could potentially dent our chances of managing contracts in the remainder of this season. With players like Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpiliceuta having less than six months left in their deals, it remains to be seen how the talks over an extension would be affected by it.

Not to mention, the same can be said for our transfer targets whom we are trying to sign to back Tuchel next season. That could be affected by these latest setbacks, leading to further uncertainty regarding the club’s future success. It is understandable why the Government has sanctioned Abramovich, but the club and its fans should not be the ones to suffer from the decision.

Nadine Dorries, UK Secretary of State for DCMS, has assured the supporters that they are trying their best to protect the club and the fans while preventing Abramovich from benefiting from his ownership. We are glad to know that efforts are being made to ensure that, but the concerns will not go away until things return to “normal”.

It remains to be seen how the club itself would react to this latest setback in the next few hours. The fans deserve to receive some assurances directly from the club officials due to the current uncertainty. Let’s hope they will do just that and an “actual solution” can be found for this misery.

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This comes at a terrible time for us, as the club continues to march towards a top-four finish and potentially, a second UEFA Champions League title in a row. Players would undoubtedly have uncertainty in their minds as well and hopefully, at least for the time being, it doesn’t impact their performance.