Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has today had his UK assets frozen as part of sanctions imposed on him by the UK government. The club will be able to operate under a special licence, which will expire on May 31, 2022. 

The players and staff will continue to be paid their wages, but the London club will be barred from selling tickets for the time period, with only season ticket holders allowed to attend matches. Chelsea are allowed to pay outstanding transfer fees but no new transfer or contract renewal can take place.

The main purpose of the sanctions is to stop any money coming into the club from going towards Abramovich, which is why Chelsea have been banned from selling merchandise both online or in stores.

Furthermore, a cap of £20,000 has been set on travel expenditure for away games, meaning the club would have to consider a cheaper travel alternative for their Champions League away games - possibly commercial flights. 

Abramovich last week confirmed that he had taken the decision to put Chelsea up for sale and that any net proceeds of the sale would go to a charity he would set up for the victims of the Ukraine war. 

According to i Sport, The sale could still go ahead but it would need special approval from the government and the club would need to ensure that the 55-year-old would not benefit from the transaction in any way.