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The Soccer World Responds To Russian Oligarch Roman Abramovich Being Sanctioned And The Impact On Chelsea

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The Soccer World Responds To Russian Oligarch Roman Abramovich Being Sanctioned And The Impact On Chelsea

Getty Image / Darren Walsh / Chelsea FC


  • The UK announced sanctions of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, owner of Premier League club Chelsea F.C., the reigning Champions League winners
  • The soccer world reacted to the Thursday morning news that Abramovich’s assets are frozen, the club cannot sell tickets or merchandise, and any sale is on old
  • Read more Soccer stories right here

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich has owned premier league club Chelsea F.C. since 2003. Throughout that time, Chelsea won five Premier League trophies, two Champions Leagues, five FA Cups, three League Cups, and two Europa League titles. But Roman’s reign as chairman is over.

The dual Russian-Israeli citizen Roman Abramovich first announced his intention to sell the club about a week ago. Then on the morning of March 10th, the hammer came down on Roman Abramovich when the UK announced sweeping sanctions on Putin’s close associate.

The UK’s sanctions on Roman Abramovich freezes all of his UK assets including Chelsea F.C., but the club has been granted a special license to continue operating with extreme restrictions. Chelsea will be able to play games and the players will get paid but the club cannot sell tickets, they can’t sell merchandise, they can’t sign new players or work on contracts, no catering service is permitted.

In the wake of these sweeping sanctions on Roman Abramovich, the soccer world took to social media to express their thoughts.

The Soccer World Responds To News Of Sanctions On Roman Abramovich

What Are Chelsea Football Club Fans And Rival Fans Saying?

The reaction to this Chelsea / Roman Abramovich news spans the full gamut of emotion. Some fans are reacting with practicality and discussing the immediate impact on jobs and the local economy. Others are ‘dancing on their grave’ or celebrating Chelsea’s demise after years of success under the stewardship of a Russian oligarch and close confidant of Vladimir Putin.

Anyone who sees this as an attack on Chelsea and not the owner is delusional. This is 100% about the Russian oligarch and 0% about the club.

Chelsea Releases A Statement

During lunchtime on Thursday in London, Chelsea F.C. released a statement about the sweeping sanctions on the club and how it pertains to operations:

By virtue of his 100 per cent ownership of Chelsea FC plc and affiliated entities, Chelsea FC would normally be subject to the same sanctions regime as Mr Abramovich. However, the UK Government has issued a general licence that permits Chelsea FC to continue certain activities.

We will fulfil our men’s and women’s team fixtures today against Norwich and West Ham, respectively, and intend to engage in discussions with the UK Government regarding the scope of the licence. This will include seeking permission for the licence to be amended in order to allow the Club to operate as normal as possible. We will also be seeking guidance from the UK Government on the impact of these measures on the Chelsea Foundation and its important work in our communities.

The Club will update further when it is appropriate to do so.

It defies all reason that the UK government would want to punish Chelsea Football Club, its fans, employees, and vendors for the sake of punishing ownership. It seems like the government would be wise to build a bigger fence between Roman Abramovich and Chelsea FC as quickly as possible so it doesn’t damage the club for years to come but the flip side of that could be just as likely, only time will tell.

It will be very interesting to see how Chelsea’s players react to this news. With uncertainty about future contracts in the air and the club being held in limbo, that could drive the players to respond in a variety of ways.