Abramovich disqualified by the Premier League: What does it mean for Chelsea?

FT Desk

• 12 Mar 2022 10:59 CST
• 3 min read

The Premier League have officially disqualified Roman Abramovich as a director of Chelsea, following the Russian Billionaire’s sanctions from the British government.

The Chelsea owner, who bought the club in 2003, was recently deemed an accomplice to Russian president Vladimir Putin and as such has had his assets frozen.

This has led to numerous difficulties for Chelsea, who have now been forced to cancel a number of day-to-day activities at the club and could be banned from selling or buying players in the summer transfer window.

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As such, the English top flight followed suit on Saturday by officially banning the Russian owner, but stated that the club will still be allowed to play their remaining games of the season.

"Following the imposition of sanctions by the UK Government, the Premier League Board has disqualified Roman Abramovich as a Director of Chelsea Football Club,” read a statement from the league.

"The Board’s decision does not impact on the club’s ability to train and play its fixtures, as set out under the terms of a licence issued by the Government which expires on 31 May 2022."

What does this mean for Chelsea?

Although this statement seems very serious from the Premier League, it won’t actually amount to a huge amount.

All of the serious allegations and consequences of Abramovich’s ownership of Chelsea have come from the British government, which will continue to dictate what happens between now and the end of the season.

Will Abramovich be allowed to sell the club? Who will be allowed to buy it? Do Chelsea have enough cash flow to continue functioning as a business in the meantime? These are all questions that only the club and the government have answers to, with the league very much sitting on the sidelines and taking their lead from the authorities.