Freezing of Chelsea Club Accounts and Credit Cards

The credit accounts and cards associated with the English club Chelsea have been temporarily frozen following the sanctions imposed by the British government on its Russian owner Roman Abramovich, as reported by media outlets on Friday. All assets of the Russian billionaire were frozen on Thursday, except for the club, which was allowed to continue “football-related activities.” However, the European champions cannot operate as a business and have been prohibited from selling match tickets or merchandise. Several sources, including "The Times," reported that banks have frozen Chelsea's accounts and credit cards. Abramovich was one of seven Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the British government in response to his country's military actions in Ukraine and his closeness to President Vladimir Putin. Abramovich had previously announced that he planned to sell the club he purchased in 2003, during which he secured 19 titles. Chelsea stated in a press release on Thursday that "by virtue of his 100% ownership of Chelsea and its associated entities, Chelsea is subject to the same sanctions regime as Abramovich. However, the UK government issued a general license allowing Chelsea to continue certain activities.” The statement continued, “We plan to engage in discussions with the UK government regarding the scope of the license.” It added, "This will include seeking permission to amend the license to allow the club to operate as normally as possible. We will also seek guidance from the UK government regarding the impact of these measures on Chelsea’s organization and its important work in our communities.” Abramovich announced last week that he made the "incredibly difficult" decision to sell Chelsea and pledged that the proceeds would go to victims of the war in Ukraine. The license allows the club to continue paying staff and players' wages and costs for hosting matches at its "Stamford Bridge" stadium, but the travel costs for away matches have been capped at £20,000 per game, which could pose challenges for its scheduled away matches in the Champions League, the first being against Lille in France on Wednesday in the round of 16 (having won the first leg 2-0).