Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has expressed sympathy with his Chelsea counterpart Thomas Tuchel after the London club's Russian owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK Government. The action, part of the government's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, means that the oligarch's assets, including Chelsea, have been frozen. The club can continue to operate under a special licence but restrictions imposed include a ban on selling tickets, while the government remains "open" to the sale of the Blues. The threat of sanctions had been widely speculated about over the past fortnight and, as he holds press conferences before games, Tuchel had often found himself as a de facto spokesperson for the club on the matter.