The Premier League has suspended Roman Abramovich as Chelsea director, the league said on Saturday.
Chelsea’s assets were frozen after the UK government imposed sanctions on club owner Abramovich. World and European champions were frozen as an asset to Abramovich, who was one of seven Russian oligarchs targeted during the war in Ukraine, along with Igor Sechin, Oleg Deripaska, Dmitry Lebedev, Alexei Miller, Andrey Kostin and Nikolai Tokarev.
The Blues have been licensed to fulfill contracts and pay staff, but rely on cash reserves to function, and various revenue streams have been cut off as part of government action against Abramovich due to his alleged ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Premier League said in a statement: “Following the imposition of sanctions by the UK government, the Premier League board has suspended Roman Abramovich as director of Chelsea Football Club. The board’s decision does not affect the club’s ability to train and play its matches. in accordance with the terms of the license issued by the government, which expires on May 31, 2022.”
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Spending limits, including a cap of around £20,000 ($26,000) on travel to away matches and a (revised) cap of £900,000 ($1.17m), were told by sources to ESPN. on the cost of hosting home games led Barclays to suspend the club’s credit cards for fear of violating government regulations.
The disqualification of Abramovich as a director will not affect the potential sale of the club. He can apply for a separate license to continue the process, which he must do, but the government will have the level of participation determined by the terms of that license when it is agreed.
The final approval of the deal will require the Department of Culture, Media and Sports, while Abramovich will not be able to receive any profit from the sale.
Now Abramovich will almost certainly not find a buyer willing to pay his £3bn ($3.9bn) asking price, given the current situation, but a quick cut-price sale is increasingly looking like the most viable option for all parties. He received several offers after he put the club up for sale, but none of them matched his estimate yet, sources told ESPN.
The consortium, which includes Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers co-owner Todd Boly and Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, have applied to move forward in the race, the sources added.
Potential interested parties have until Tuesday to submit proposals to New York-based merchant bank Raine Group, which has been designated to sell the club.