According to latest reports, Chelsea may face significant difficulties in competing in the UEFA Champions League for the rest of this season due to certain clauses in the sanctions.
After mounting pressure on the Blues owner to be sanctioned, Roman Abramovich, 55, confirmed his intention to sell the Premier League club.
However, the Russian oligarch’s hopes of selling Chelsea have been dashed after sanctions were imposed on Abramovich in the midst of Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine.
Chelsea’s billionaire owner, Roman Abramovich, has been accused of having close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he denies.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed crippling economic sanctions on Russia, freezing the assets of seven Russian oligarchs.
Because Abramovich’s assets have been frozen, Chelsea can no longer sell match tickets, preventing the Blues owner from profiting from the club.
Chelsea has been granted a special license, which will allow the club to continue meeting certain requirements, such as paying employees and allowing fans who have already purchased tickets to attend games.
However, one of the conditions outlined in the special licence limits Chelsea’s travel costs to a “reasonable” value that cannot exceed £20,000.
“Reasonable costs of travel to and from fixtures (for the purposes of training or practice) by any of the club teams for players and essential staff (including the reasonable cost of any travel company making such arrangements and necessary security staff or contractors) not exceeding the value of £20,000 per game, per club team,” reads the terms of the licence.
Chelsea is one of four English teams left in this season’s Champions League, with the Blues set to face Lille in their second-leg tie on March 16th.
Thomas Tuchel’s side won the first leg of the last-16 tie 2-0 at Stamford Bridge last month, but there are concerns about the cost of their trip to France as a result of Abramovich’s sanction.
Should their cost of travel to France exceed £20,000, then it will go against the terms of the license.
