Whenever you think it can’t get any worse… That’s probably how everyone involved at Chelsea FC is feeling at the moment!
After the Russian club boss Roman Abramovich (55) was banned from doing business in England on Thursday as a sanction in the wake of the Ukraine war, the next tough sanction against the Premier League club follows.
As several English media reports, the bank account of Chelsea FC and the company credit cards from Barclays have now been temporarily blocked!
The reason: The bank needs time to examine the license Chelsea have been given to continue playing. When asked by BILD, however, Barclays did not want to comment on the process in the evening.
The British government on Thursday granted Chelsea a license to continue football-related activities after Abramovich was hit with “his assets freeze, a ban on transactions with British individuals and companies, a travel ban and traffic sanctions”.
The sanctions are designed to stop the 55-year-old from making any money in the UK. However, the government has granted Chelsea a special license that allows them to play matches, pay staff and accompany existing cardholders to matches. However, Chelsea are not allowed to offer new player or staff contracts, make transfer deals or sell new match tickets.
Coach Thomas Tuchel’s (48) club hopes the suspension will be lifted shortly and is still in talks with the government to ease some of the restrictions. Those responsible hope that their company credit cards will be released again in the next few days to give them more financial leeway.
Should the government decide not to make certain financial concessions, the club could become insolvent in the coming weeks, which would result in a nine-point deduction under Premier League rules.
However, Abramovich is expected to apply for a separate license to sell the club, with interested parties asking to be informed on how a bid involving the state could play out.
It has previously been made public that US sporting goods giant Nike is considering exiting its $1 billion deal with Chelsea. According to the Daily Mail, if Nike were to pull out, Chelsea would be missing 640 million euros because the deal was negotiated for 15 years. Shirt sponsor “Three” has already suspended its commitment (48 million euros), announced the decision a few hours before the away game at Norwich City.
The sanctions and financial losses are becoming more and more dramatic…
