Chelsea credit cards temporarily suspended after Roman Abramovich sanctions

03/11/2022

Chelsea’s strict licence is designed to ensure Abramovich will not profit amid the Stamford Bridge club’s continued operations, but Blues chiefs were understood to have been locked in negotiations with Government officials throughout Friday on amendments to that new licence.

Chelsea expect negotiations with Downing Street to continue into next week as the two parties thrash out an easing of the restrictions.

The Premier League club will seek a relaxation of limits like the £20,000 travel cap for away matches for example, with a typical Premier League spend far closer to £30,000 per match.

Chelsea are thought to have their travel and accommodation bills already paid for the rest of this season for existing fixtures, but this does not cover cup competitions.

The Blues are slated to face Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday, March 19.

Under the current rules, Chelsea cannot sell any new tickets for that match, which would severely hit Championship club Middlesbrough’s gate revenue.

Chelsea cannot sell any new match programmes for Sunday’s Premier League home clash with Newcastle, so vendors are thought to be unable to work at Stamford Bridge.

Abramovich put Chelsea up for sale on March 2, amid Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine, with his ownership set to end after 19 years and 21 trophies.

Abramovich had pledged to write off the club’s £1.5billion debt and plough all sale proceeds into a new charitable foundation to aid victims of the war in Ukraine.

Chelsea credit cards temporarily suspended after Roman Abramovich sanctions

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