Connect with us

Sports

UK govt’s sanctions halt Abramovich’s attempt to sell Chelsea

Published

on

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will no longer be able to sell the Premier League club as earlier planned after the United Kingdom government rolled out sanctions.

The Blues were put up for sale by the Russian following his home country’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine – a war that has been raging for a few weeks.

Ripples Nigeria reported on 2 March that Abramovich had confirmed his intention to sell the club following threats of sanctions at the UK Parliament.

He had at the time mentioned that the proceeds from the sale would be used to help the victims of the Russia-Ukraine war, stating that being at Chelsea has not really been about business for him.

But the sale has been put on hold after the oligarch was sanctioned by the UK government as part of its response to the Ukraine invasion.

Abramovich’s assets have now been frozen by the UK government, include Chelsea, which means the club cannot sell further match tickets.

Read Also: Abramovich confirms intention to sell Chelsea

The move, according to UK media, is intended to stop Abramovich making money from Chelsea.

The government issued a special licence that will allow fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket-holders to attend matches.

Season-ticket holders can still attend games for which they have tickets but the club cannot now sell any more tickets.

Chelsea will also be unable to buy or sell players, or offer new contracts, while the sanctions are imposed on Abramovich.

Chelsea’s owned players who are on loan at other clubs will be able to continue to play for those clubs.

The London club’s merchandise shop has also been shut.

The UK government is said to be open to considering a further addition to the special licence which will allow the sale of the club.

A condition for that to happen would be that Abramovich – one of Russia’s richest people who is believed to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin – receives no funds.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now