Leading sports lawyer explains What Abramovich sanctions mean for Chelsea

Just over a year ago Chelsea lifted their second Champions League trophy despite the prolonged outbreak of Covid across the globe, a few months later they splashed out a record £92million on striker Romelu Lukaku and kicked off the season as serious title contenders. Despite a relatively inconsistent season Chelsea found themselves in third place in the Premiership and into the last 16 of the Champions League. However, on 24th February 2022 Russian President announced a "special military operation" to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine.

Since then Ukraine has been torn apart by a never-ending barrage by the Russian military, resulting in thousands tragically and needlessly losing their lives. The West have responded by imposing sanctions on Russia, aimed at derailing their invasion of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has not taken likely to these sanctions, which have also encompassed numerous Russian oligarchs including Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea Football Club. The UK Government’s intervention means that Mr Abramovic is trying to sell the football club, which at present is unable to sell merchandise, players or even tickets for upcoming games. However, the club is able to continue operating under a special license.

What does this mean for Chelsea Football Club right now?

Leading sports lawyer Stephen Taylor Heath, who is both Partner and Head of Sports Law at JMW Solicitors said “The freezing of an asset literally means the freezing of an asset, if you’re talking about a yacht thats a physical item, meaning you can’t move or sell it. However Chelsea Football Club isn't, there’s lots of organic parts of the club, thats why it seems that the Government has issued what it calls a ‘special license’, which effectively means the club can continue trading and operating on its current commitments and current obligations. For example, the current season ticket holders can attend games because they’ve already got a contractual relationship with the club, however spectators who wish to buy tickets for games cannot because that would be a new transaction.”

Mr Taylor Heath is currently ranked as a ‘Leading individual’ by Legal 500 in the TMT/Sports category. In addition to over 25 years in private practice Stephen has held high profile in-house positions in the Sports Industry including Racing UK, Frank Warren’s Sports Network and recently Leeds United Football Club.

What happens next?

Mr Taylor Heath said “We’ll have to monitor the next few days with intrigue, but ultimately these are unprecedented times and the Government will have the final say as to what happens next.”

During a press conference Chelsea Manager Thomas Tuchel confirmed he will remain as manager until the end of the season, although what happens beyond that point remains to be seen.