Premier League team Chelsea may be in strife due to the British government sanctions on owner Roman Abramovich, but the club's fans are showing they still support the Russian billionaire.
Chelsea faces an uncertain future due to the heavy sanctions against Abramovich — one many wealthy Russians to have their assets frozen by Western nations following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
As part of the fallout, the club is banned from buying players, selling new tickets to home or opposition fans for games at Stamford Bridge, and from selling merchandise.
Chelsea even required a special licence to play its latest Premier League game against Norwich, but the sanctions — which also halted Abramovich's planned sale of the club — did not prevent the away fans from chanting the oligarch's name from the first whistle.
The sound of "Roman Abramovich!" coming from Blues fans was almost immediately followed by booing from the Norwich crowd.
And City fans made their views on the crisis known, holding up banners that had a crack at their London rivals.
Chelsea's players showed no sign of being affected by the turmoil as Trevor Chalobah headed in Mason Mount's corner in the third minute. Mount got on the scoresheet himself 11 minutes later when he curled in a pass from Kai Havertz.
In the second half, Chelsea supporters were back in full voice, chanting for Abramovich and singing: "Chelsea get sanctioned everywhere they go." However, with 21 minutes left, the momentum shifted when Norwich scored from a penalty.
Blues fans were left to celebrate however, as Havertz scored in injury time to wrap up the points with a 3-1 win.
Company asks Chelsea to suspend shirt sponsorship
In the wake of the government sanctions, Mobile network Three asked Chelsea to suspend its shirt sponsorship of the team.
"In light of the government's recently announced sanctions, we have requested Chelsea Football Club temporarily suspend our sponsorship of the club, including the removal of our brand from shirts and around the stadium until further notice," Three said in a statement.
"We recognise that this decision will impact the many Chelsea fans who follow their team passionately.
"However, we feel that given the circumstances, and the Government sanction that is in place, it is the right thing to do."
Shirt-sleeve sponsor Hyundai also said it was considering its next move.
"Hyundai has become one of the strongest partners in football over the years and the company supports the sport to be a force for good," a statement read.
"We are currently assessing the situation with Chelsea FC."
ABC/wires
