The government is doing "quite the opposite" of punishing Chelsea, culture secretary Nadine Dorries has said in a letter to MPs that clarifies what the club can and cannot do under the terms of a special licence granted following the decision to sanction owner Roman Abramovich.
A little after 9am this morning the 55-year-old billionaire was named by the government as a “pro-Kremlin oligarch” who has had links to Russia president Vladmir Putin for “decades”.
He has had all his assets in the UK frozen as part of the response to the invasion of Ukraine, including the club.
In a two-page letter sent to members of parliament this evening, seen by football.london, Dorries said that the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is "working urgently" with the club and the Premier League to ensure the season is completed and she insisted that the intervention has been made to protect the club.
That is despite the prospect of supporters who are not season ticket holders being barred from attending games.
On the topic of what the licence, referred to as “The Russia Regulations”, permits the letter said:
⦁ The club’s games can go ahead from Under-18 level up for men and women..
⦁ Players and staff can travel to fixtures and training as normal and the club can host scheduled fixtures at its grounds.
⦁ Required activity such as catering, security, stewarding, maintenance of the grounds will continue and the club is to pay all of their staff and taxes.
⦁ Existing ticket holders can use their tickets and resell them within the existing boundaries of the law. This includes home or away fans, or Chelsea fans travelling to away games. Under the licence, no new or additional tickets can be purchased.
⦁ Contractual inter-club payments around player loan and sale arrangements can continue.
Dorries then adds that the licence will be kept under constant review and it will be adapted "as necessary", leaving the door open for the club to be still sold.
“We are working urgently with the club and the Premier League to make sure the season is completed and that we address issues like ensuring away fans are not unfairly punished,” she wrote.
“The licence will be kept under constant review and we will work closely with the football authorities to adapt it as necessary to achieve the aims of protecting the national game. Whilst the licence published this morning does not include provisions for a sale, the government will review any application from the club's owner to licence a sale. In doing so a priority would be ensuring no receipts are released to the owner.
“I know that colleagues will be on the receiving end of concerns from fans and supporters on issues such as tickets. We have taken the necessary action to put a safety net in place to allow the club to continue competing and avoid irreparable damage to our national game, but the need to sell merchandise or additional tickets at games are not essential to keep the club going. Ultimately, this could risk further revenue to a designated individual.
“Finally I would just note we are not seeking to punish Chelsea through sanctions, quite the opposite. We have intervened to ensure Chelsea can continue as a football club. Football clubs are cultural assets and the bedrock of our communities. This Government is committed to protecting them, but must do so in a way that does not benefit those linked to the Russian Government.
“We must punish individuals with links to the Putin regime and these sanctions will target the assets and lifestyle of those affected.”
