Chelsea fans urged to end Roman Abramovich chants

Chelsea fans have been asked to refrain from chanting in support of their owner and Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich by a UK Government minister.

Supporters of the west London club sang Abramovich's name during the Premier League win at Norwich on Thursday night, hours after the Government had imposed sanctions on him due to his links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Abramovich's UK assets have been frozen while Chelsea have been issued a special licence to continue operating under strict conditions designed to prevent the Russian-Israeli billionaire generating new revenue.

Technology minister Chris Philp urged Blues fans to remember why Abramovich had been sanctioned in the first place.

"I'm a football fan myself, I'm a Palace fan, in south London. So I understand why fans are very attached to their football clubs," he told BBC Radio Four's Today Programme on Friday morning.

"But Roman Abramovich is someone who has been sanctioned now, yesterday morning, for his very close links to Vladimir Putin and the Putin regime.

"And I just say respectfully to the Chelsea fans, I know he's done a lot for the club, but the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and what the Russian regime are doing to civilians - shelling maternity hospitals and shooting civilians who are fleeing down humanitarian corridors - and that is more important than football.

"And I say that as a football fan myself, and I would just ask them to keep that in mind."

Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 and has led the club to 21 trophies in the 19 years since.

But the club's future is now uncertain. The existing licence for the club does not permit a sale, but the UK Government has said it is open to a sale and would consider an application for a new licence to make the