Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich sanctioned by UK Government

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK government – meaning he is now unable to sell the club.

Abramovich has had “his assets frozen, a prohibition on transactions with UK individuals and businesses, a travel ban and transport sanctions” imposed on him.

The sanctions are intended to stop the 55-year-old from making any money in the UK – and this includes from Chelsea. An application to the UK government can be made to sell Chelsea in the future as long as Russian-Israeli billionaire Abramovich does not profit or make any money from the transaction.

The government has granted Chelsea a special licence to allow fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket holders to attend matches.

But all Chelsea teams are now banned from:

• Offering new contracts to players or staff – Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta see their deals expire on June