The UK government remains “open” to the sale of Chelsea in spite of imposing asset-freezing sanctions on owner Roman Abramovich.
The Treasury will have to approve a new licence for Chelsea’s sale, but Russian billionaire Abramovich will not be allowed to profit.
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Abramovich has owned Chelsea since 2003 but put the club up for sale on March 2 in the wake of Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine.
The UK government sanctioned Abramovich on Thursday amid ties to Vladimir Putin, ties which the Chelsea owner has always strongly denied.
A host of parties have signalled interest in buying Chelsea and Downing Street have now confirmed the government could still oversee a sale.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said: “We are now talking to Chelsea Football Club and those conversations will continue.
“It will be part of those discussions the terms of any specific licence that’s granted to allow any sale to proceed.
“The important thing is under no circumstances will any sale allow Roman Abramovich to profit from that or take any money from that sale.
“It’s fair to say the government is open to the sale of the club but currently it will require another licence and that will require a further conversation with the Treasury and other departments.”
Chelsea will be subject to a transfer ban and be blocked from negotiating new contracts with current players after all of Abramovich’s UK assets were frozen.
Defenders Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are all out of contract at the end of the season, leaving the senior trio in a state of short-term limbo.
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said on Twitter: “Our priority is to hold those who have enabled the Putin regime to account.
“Today’s sanctions obviously have a direct impact on Chelsea and its fans. We have been working hard to ensure the club and the national game are not unnecessarily harmed by these important sanctions.
“To ensure the club can continue to compete and operate we are issuing a special licence that will allow fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket holders to attend matches while, crucially, depriving Abramovich of benefiting from his ownership of the club.
“I know this brings some uncertainty, but the Government will work with the league and 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.”
Abramovich has changed the face of British football in his time as Chelsea owner, leading the Blues to 21 trophies in 19 years in a clean sweep of all global competitions.
But that era has been brought to a halt amid Putin’s recent actions and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Chelsea cannot sell any new tickets to supporters, but all tickets sold before Thursday will be honoured.
Season ticket-holders can still attend matches unaffected, while refreshments can still be served at Stamford Bridge.
The sanctions are club-wide, meaning all Chelsea teams, including Emma Hayes’ highly-successful women’s team, are affected.
Chelsea matches can still be broadcast, while only existing club merchandise can be sold.
There are also limits on the amount that can be spent on travel by any team representing Chelsea — 20,000 pounds — and on costs for staging home matches — 500,000 pounds.
The travel budget limit had brought into question the club’s ability to fulfil away ties in Europe for the rest of the season.
But there is a degree of flexibility on the limits set out in the licence, particularly around European fixtures.
The Blues said in a statement they were seeking permission for the licence to be amended “in order to allow the club to operate as normal as possible”.
The club and the Premier League confirmed Thursday night’s match against Norwich would go ahead as planned. (dpa/NAN)
