Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK government – meaning he is now unable to sell the club.
Abramovich has had “his assets frozen, a prohibition on transactions with UK individuals and businesses, a travel ban and transport sanctions” imposed on him. There is now doubt as to whether he will be able to sell the club due to the restrictions he is under.
Nadine Dorries, the minister for Sport and Culture, has tweeted: “I know this brings some uncertainty, but the Government will work with the league & clubs to keep football being played while ensuring sanctions hit those intended. Football clubs are cultural assets and the bedrock of our communities. We’re committed to protecting them.”
A government statement said: “Given the significant impact that today’s sanctions would have on Chelsea football club and the potential knock on effects of this, the Government has this morning published a licence which authorises a number of football-related activities to continue at Chelsea.
“This includes permissions for the club to continue playing matches and other football related activity which will in turn protect the Premier League, the wider football pyramid, loyal fans and other clubs. This licence will only allow certain explicitly named actions to ensure the designated individual is not able to circumvent UK sanctions. The licence will be kept under constant review and we will work closely with the football authorities.”
Sky Sports News understands that Chelsea and government officials will meet on Thursday.
Abramovich has been sanctioned along with six of Russia’s wealthiest and most influential oligarchs, whose business empires, wealth and connections are closely associated with Vladimir Putin’s regime. They have a net worth of £15bn.
Those sanctioned are:
- Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea FC and has stakes in steel giant Evraz and Norilsk Nickel
- Oleg Deripaska has stakes in En+ Group
- Igor Sechin is the chief executive of Rosneft
- Andrey Kostin is chairman of VTB bank
- Alexei Miller is CEO of energy company Gazprom
- Nikolai Tokarev is president of the Russia state-owned pipeline company Transneft
- Dmitri Lebedev is chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank Rossiya
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “There can be no safe havens for those who have supported Putin’s vicious assault on Ukraine.
“Today’s sanctions are the latest step in the UK’s unwavering support for the Ukrainian people. We will be ruthless in pursuing those who enable the killing of civilians, destruction of hospitals and illegal occupation of sovereign allies.”
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “Today’s sanctions show once again that oligarchs and kleptocrats have no place in our economy or society. With their close links to Putin they are complicit in his aggression.
“The blood of the Ukrainian people is on their hands. They should hang their heads in shame.
“Our support for Ukraine will not waver. We will not stop in this mission to ramp up the pressure on the Putin regime and choke off funds to his brutal war machine.
Chelsea fans sang the name of Russian owner Roman Abramovich during a minute’s applause in support for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of the country. Abramovich announced this week he is selling the club after 19 years.
What does this mean for the sale of Chelsea?
Stephen Taylor Heath, Sports lawyer
The short answer is, no he can’t (sell the club). The freezing of an asset literally means the freezing of an asset. Chelsea is a physical item, there is lots of organic parts to the club, unlike a yacht, and that is why the government has issued a special licence which effectively means the club can continue trading and operating based on its current commitments and obligations.
Sports lawyer Stephen Taylor Heath explains what the sanctions imposed on Roman Abramovich will mean for Chelsea and a potential sale.
So the current season-ticket holders can attend games because they’ve already contracted with the club, spectators who want to buy tickets for games can’t because that is a new transaction.
That is at one level, new players would be another new contract, even potentially new contracts with existing players could be new contracts. And clearly what would be a new contract would be the sale of the club.
So in short, based on this freezing order, no he can’t sell the club. Now if the government is prepared to give a special licence in relation to the operation of the club, then the question is whether they would then give another special license in relation to the sale of the club.
But based on the terms of this freezing order, no he can’t.
Sports lawyer Stephen Taylor Heath says that Roman Abramovich’s sale of Chelsea may have to involve a third party if sanctions are imposed on the offer and doesn’t see a sale happening particularly quickly.