Chelsea in financial turmoil with credit cards frozen as officials beg for Government to ease restrictions

Chelsea were navigating financial turmoil yesterday as officials tried to persuade the Government to ease restrictions while some of the club’s credit cards were frozen.

The Government and representatives of the European champions were locked in talks with the club desperate for restrictions, put in place as a result of sanctions against owner Roman Abramovich for links to Russian president Vladimir Putin, to be eased in order for the club to continue operating.

Treasury officials and representatives from the department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport heard from Chelsea what the club required in order to continue playing.

Chelsea only learned of the sanctions on Abramovich and the impact on the club shortly before it was made public on Thursday morning.

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During the meeting, club officials were said to be outlining the parameters in which they can continue operating. It appears likely that the Government, which retained the right to suspend or alter the sanctions at any time, will be prepared to tweak the restrictions where necessary to ensure the club do not go out of business.

But it has not helped that some Chelsea credit cards have been suspended as a result of the chaotic circumstances.

When the Government froze Abramovich’s assets on Thursday, his football club was placed under a series of special restrictions in order to allow them to keep playing. The Government wants to ensure one of England’s leading teams – considered a cultural asset – does not implode financially.

Abramovich, 55, is still able to sell Chelsea provided he does not benefit in any way from the proceeds – as first revealed by i – and must apply for a special licence from the Government who will either freeze the money or allow it to be put into a charity.

But sponsors have been considering their options and mobile phone company Three, the club’s main shirt sponsor which had a deal worth around £40m per year, chose to suspend its partnership on Thursday in light of developments.

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Chelsea, meanwhile, fear that the restrictions imposed on the club – which include maximum expenditure of £20,000 on away trips and £500,000 to host matches, as well as halting merchandise sales, new player and staff contracts and player trading – will not be enough to allow them to continue playing matches and conclude the season.

The club are third in the Premier League, finished runners-up in the Carabao Cup final, look set to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League and are still in the FA Cup.

Another of the limits placed on Chelsea was the removal from sale of future tickets. Season ticket holders and those who had already purchased tickets for forthcoming matches are still able to attend them, but no new tickets can be sold.

One Government source said they were “open minded” to ways Chelsea could distribute tickets without making financial gain, such as giving them away for free or channelling the proceeds into a charity.

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