British businessman Ken Bates, the 90-year-old former owner of Chelsea, has criticized the sanctions imposed by his country’s government on his former club. Bates believes that the British government’s sanctions against Chelsea FC harm the team’s fans, staff and players in the first place, and it is they who pay the price. Bates also ridiculed his government’s decision by saying that sanctions against Chelsea would not prompt Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the Russian military operation in Ukraine, and that not allowing “Blues” fans to buy tickets to attend their team matches and cutting off the broadcast of English Premier League matches in Russia would not affect Putin’s decision and would not Russian citizens in Moscow are forced to go to shelters because they will not be able to attend the Chelsea match on TV! Bates said Chelsea’s current owner, Russian businessman Roman Abramovich, had simply decided to sell the club and donate the proceeds to charities, while the British government was making decisions that harm ordinary English citizens and make absolutely no difference to Russia. It is noteworthy that the British government froze last Thursday all of Abramovich’s assets in Britain, except for Chelsea, which allowed him to continue “football-related activities.” The British government justifies its decision because of the Russian billionaire’s support for his country in its military operation to protect Donbass. And the British newspaper “The Sun” had revealed in a report earlier today that Abramovich had been given nearly 3 months to sell Chelsea FC, under the supervision of the British government, so that he would not be subjected to additional penalties after the decision to freeze his property in London.
In the event that the London club is not sold before May 31, Chelsea’s license in the English Football Association will not be renewed. The club will have to expedite the settlement of the sale file, in cooperation with the British government, with money in its pocket, in order for the new administration to renew the license and lift the ban on the “Blues”. It turned out that the “license” that would allow Chelsea to play until the end of the season would not be renewed unless Abramovich agreed to the sale, but without receiving any money from the club’s sale. Under the license, Chelsea, with a wage expenditure of £333m a year and around 1,000 employees, can continue to work and pay wages. Chelsea will not be allowed to sell any more tickets this season, only season ticket holders can go to matches in the near future, the club will also be prohibited from entering into new contracts in the player transfer market, and will be prevented from negotiating new contracts for existing players.