Report: Key sponsor demands Chelsea remove logo despite license restrictions

Chelsea shirt sponsor ‘Three’ asks Blues to remove logo from shirts amidst license restrictions

According to The Athletic (Subscription Required), Chelsea shirt sponsor Three have suggested to the club that they should remove their logo despite the license restrictions due to the limitations imposed by the UK Government. The day to day running of the English club has been in chaos since Roman Abramovich was levied with sanctions and this update would add to the list of worries that they need to take care of in the future.

Earlier, Three had suspended their sponsorship deal with the Blues following the UK Government’s sanction on the Chelsea owner. That being said, the club had to keep the mobile network operator’s logo on their shirt due to issues with the license allowed by the Government. They took that stance to meet the terms required to maintain the special license that has been granted to them.

Now, Three, through a spokesperson, has suggested that the West London side should find a solution at the earliest. The English club have already removed the logo from their digital assets, but the same cannot be done physically due to the current restrictions.

“We understand from discussions with Chelsea FC that there are ongoing issues with removing the Three logo from the shirts, as a result of kit supply issues and licence restrictions. We have requested that Chelsea reverts with a solution to this issue as soon as possible.”

Some time, maybe?

Instead of pushing us constantly, Three should try to give Thomas Tuchel‘s side ample time to work their way through this period of uncertainty. We are pretty sure that the club officials know how they cannot use the logo since the sponsorship deal has been suspended.

The club’s board would obviously be looking at solutions at this point, but one cannot expect a quick fix in such a volatile environment. As such, adding more pressure on us would not help us in the slightest at this point. If anything, it is the Government that could help by changing the terms in the special license to facilitate the logo removal.

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We cannot print new kits without the Three logo either because of the stern operational restrictions from the UK Government once again. If anything, we can try to cover up the logo at best as a short term measure until we are granted more leeway in the future.

It remains to be seen how this situation will develop in the next few weeks. We remain hopeful that a solution can be found between the club and Three with the help of the UK Government.