Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is the latest to face sanctions from the UK Government in relation to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the report linking him to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Roman Abramovich has denied links to Vladimir Putin in the past.
However, the set of sanctions have resulted in all of the owner’s UK assets to be frozen, with Chelsea operating under a special "Russia Regulations" license so they can continue playing.
This means that the Blues can still play, but for the time being, they cannot continue as a regular business would and it means that changes inevitably come with it.
For example, merchandise cannot be sold unless an outlet already has it available, while on the footballing side of things, new contracts or transfers cannot be made under this license, which currently runs until May 31.
On the ticketing side of things, there is also a big impact on the Chelsea fans.
Tickets for games at Stamford Bridge will no longer be sold, with only those who have a ticket in advance or a season ticket able to attend the match.
For those that have a season ticket, they will still be able to make any outstanding payments left against it.
As of 2020, the Blues had 28,000 season tickets, taking up over half of the 41,000 capacity at the stadium.
It also means that allocation won’t be given to away fans for games that don’t already have tickets sold. Brentford put their tickets for the match on April 2nd on sale last week, so may not be affected by the decision, but West Ham's trip to Stamford Bridge looks set to be the first fixture without away fans.
For those who are able to attend, there will be refreshments available as catering is part of the license, however the club is not allowed to spend over £500,000 hosting a game.
Chelsea now face a new normal under the Russia Regulations license, with it currently lasting until the end of May.
For the fans, the impact is rather immediate with tickets and merchandise sales pulled, but for the long-term future of the club, it throws more doubt onto what could be next.
