Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich’s attempt to sell the club has been halted after the oligarch was sanctioned by the UK government as part of its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian put the European champions up for sale after the threat of sanctions was raised in Parliament.
The freezing of Abramovich‘s assets, which include Chelsea, means the club cannot sell further match tickets.
The move is intended to stop Abramovich making money from Chelsea.
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The government has issued a special licence that will allow fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket-holders to attend matches.
Chelsea have said they “intend to engage in discussions” with the government and will seek amendments to the special licence to “allow the club to operate as normal as possible”.
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.
