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Government swoop on Chelsea

Roman Abramovich has now been sanctioned by the UK Government.   The sale of the club has been put on ice and the club is operating under a 'special licence'.  The Premier League was told just 15 minutes before the decision was announced.

A statement from the financial sanctions office at HM Treasury can be found here: https://ofsi.blog.gov.uk/2022/03/10/chelsea-football-club-what-you-need-to-know/

Up to now I thought that the Government wanted to avoid getting directly involved with a football club, but they have been under heavy pressure to 'do something' about oligarchs and Abramovich in particular given his high profile.  He has always denied having close links with the Kremlin.

It is possible that the move could be subject to a legal challenge.  Chelsea has said that it wants to seek amendments to the licence that would enable it to operate as normally as possible, in particular in relation to expenses that can be allowed for home and away matches.   The £20k limit does not look feasible in relation to away Champions League games.

On BBC Radio 5 Simon Stone said: 'BBC Sport has been told the whole idea of these sanctions to stop Abramovich profiting.   You have to wonder what this means for the sale of Chelsea Football Club and for Chelsea in general because clearly we’re talking about huge amounts of money the club will lose from its normal operating expenditure.”

The BBC understands that the government is open in the future to considering a licence that would permit the sale of the club, but that would have conditions so that the proceeds would not be able to go to Abramovich.  This is because they think the viability of the club is potentially best served if it is sold.

One of the concerns has always been the idea of controversial minister Nadine Dorries being involved in running a football club, but she has put out a statement on Twitter designed to reassure Chelsea fans.

The Chelsea Supporters' Trust says fans must be involved in discussions about the club's future.

It "implores the Government to conduct a swift process to minimise the uncertainty over Chelsea's future, for supporters and for supporters to be given a golden share as part of a sale of the club."

 Here are some of the key points from the special licence put in place by the government:

  • Chelsea are able to pay the wages of all employees, including players and coaching staff.
  • They can pay "reasonable" costs of travel to and from fixtures but not exceeding £20,000 per game per team.
  • Pay "reasonable" costs towards hosting home fixtures, not exceeding £500,000 per fixture per team.
  • Fans who bought season tickets or individual match tickets before 10 March 2022 can attend games.
  • Broadcasters can broadcast any fixture involving the club.
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