[골닷컴] Reporter Kang Dong-hoon = While the British government recently imposed strong sanctions on Chelsea’s owner Roman Abramovich (55, Russia), this time, the Premier League Secretariat has also stepped forward. He decided to impose severe penalties that would disqualify him as owner.
The Premier League Secretariat officially announced on the 12th (Korean time) on the official social network service (SNS) that “the board of directors has made the final decision to disqualify Abramović, who is currently the owner of Chelsea, in accordance with the sanctions of the British government.”
Earlier on the 10th, the British government imposed sanctions on seven Russian businessmen, including the owner of Abramovich. They are regarded as supporters of President Vladimir Putin (69, Russia) and became targets of many European countries as soon as Russia invaded Ukraine by force. As a result, not only assets in the UK were frozen, but they were also banned from entering and staying in the UK, and from doing business with UK citizens and UK businesses.
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Naturally, Chelsea were hit by a direct hit, and they were in an emergency. Abramović had already announced that he would withdraw from the club’s management and sell Chelsea, conscious of public criticism against him, and that the proceeds from the sale would also be used for victims of the Ukrainian war, but all plans were thwarted due to sanctions.
In particular, the management of the club suffered a major blow. Game tickets could not be sold to spectators other than those who purchased existing season tickets, and all commercial activities, including offline stores, were restricted. In addition, recruitment or renewal of contracts, as well as release that generates income, is impossible. The cost of playing the game is also allowed at a minimum.
However, recently, even the corporate card has been suspended, and the cost of moving for the game, especially when leaving for an away trip, has been severely restricted. In the midst of this, Chelsea were completely pushed to the brink when Abramović was also disqualified as owner.
Meanwhile, Chelsea received a notice from their main sponsor ‘Three’ that they would suspend sponsorship. Fortunately, the uniform sponsor ‘Nike’ sighed a little bit of relief by telling them that they would continue to do so without breaking the contract.