Roman Abramovich BANNED from owning Chelsea and must sell club immediately as Premier League release statement

ROMAN ABRAMOVICH has been BANNED from being director of Chelsea by the Premier League.

The Russian was sanctioned by the UK government over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and his ties to president Vladimir Putin.

And now the Chelsea billionaire owner will no longer be permitted to have ANY involvement in the running of the club.

The stunning development was announced in a Premier League statement issued at lunchtime.

A Prem spokesperson said: “Following the imposition of sanctions by the UK Government, the Premier League Board has disqualified Roman Abramovich as a Director of Chelsea Football Club.

“The Board’s decision does not impact on the club’s ability to train and play its fixtures, as set out under the terms of a licence issued by the Government which expires on 31 May 2022.”

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Under Prem rules, the disqualification would normally trigger the sale of the named individual’s shareholding “within 28 days”.

But Abramovich has already announced his intention to sell his appointed agents, the US-based Raine Group, having told potential buyers the sale is back on and that they have a deadline of Friday to register their interest.

In addition, with Abramovich under sanction and the club one of the assets frozen by the Government, that 28-day timeline is effectively suspended.

It requires a further licence from the Government to let a sale go ahead – that will be granted once a deal that prevents a single penny of the price going into Abramovich’s pocket is confirmed.

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That means the Prem will let the process play out without imposing the deadline limit in its regulations.

Abramovich initially wanted upwards of £3bn for his stake in the club he had run since 2003.

He then announced he would not be demanding the repayment of the £1.5bn he had loaned Chelsea and that any residual profit would be handed over to a charity related to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

But now the sanctions mean Abramovich cannot get his hands on any of the cash and is effectively and unquestionably a “distressed seller”, likely to force the final asking price down even if there is a bidding war.

The latest news means Abramovich MUST sell Chelsea immediately.

Chelsea’s credit cards were FROZEN on Friday amid mounting pressure on Abramovich to give the club away for free.

The club are haemorrhaging cash after they were banned from selling tickets and merchandise.

Telecom giants Three also pulled out of their £40million-a-year deal.

The European giants have an eye watering £28million-a-month wage bill and reportedly has just over two weeks to find a new buyer or go into administration.

In the meantime, Chelsea have been granted a licence to continue operating, fulfilling their scheduled fixtures.

The football-related activities Chelsea can fulfil also includes paying staff and the running costs of the ground.

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However, only season ticket holders can attend matches as the club are banned from selling home or away tickets.

The new terms will allow the club to utilise payments due from broadcasting companies and any prize money earned to meet its outgoings.

That should see the £28m monthly wage bill covered for the final three months of the campaign.

DCMS officials have lifted the £500,000 cap on match day costs to £900,000 per game, meeting Chelsea’s assessment of the real cost of staging them.

And while the current limit of £20,000 on away travel expenses remains for now, the Government is ready increase that substantially if Chelsea convert their 2-0 first leg advantage over Lille in the last 16 of the Champions League into quarter-final progression this week.

For now, though, the ban on the club selling seats in addition to the season tickets already sold has not been lifted, although that is also likely to be the subject of further discussion.

Chelsea anticipate 44,000 full houses for both tomorrow’s game with Newcastle and the match against Brentford on April 2, which were both sold out before Thursday’s bombshell.

A DCMS spokesman said: “We have said all along that we would engage with Chelsea to understand what is needed to allow upcoming games to be played to minimise the impact on the Leagues, football pyramid and fans. 

“Following extensive engagement with the Club on the details of their structures since the sanction was announced, we have made some further operational amendments to the licence to do so.”

Responding to the Prem decision, a DCMS spokesperson said: “We welcome the Premier League’s action to disqualify Roman Abramovich as a Director of the football club. 

“The Government has made clear that we need to hold to account those who have enabled the Putin regime. 

“We are open to a sale of the club and would consider an application for a licence to allow that to happen.”

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk