Chelsea strongly condemned by government after releasing "threatening" statement

Russia to miss 2022 World Cup and 2020 Olympics after WADA issue four-year ban

Cheltenham Festival 2022: All you need to know

Klitschko says ‘my heart is bleeding’ at deaths of Ukrainian children

Antonio Conte reviews Spurs defeat against Manchester United

Man Utd prepare for Atletico Madrid clash

Eoin Morgan: Issues around Yorkshire CCC scandal needs to be met head-on

Christian Eriksen knew he may play football again two days after cardiac arrest

Thomas Tuchel on his future at Chelsea

Cheltenham Festival 2022: All you need to know

Chelsea have been accused of failing to "understand the seriousness of the situation they are in" after releasing a "statement threatening Middlesbrough and the rest of the Football League".

The Blues are seeking to get their away fixture against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup played behind closed doors for the sake of "sporting integrity" as they are currently unable to sell tickets due to sanctions placed on owner Roman Abramovich. But their controversial statement has not gone down well with the UK government, who has responded with a strongly-worded condemnation of their actions.

A senior government source told Politico : "We are working around the clock to enable Chelsea to continue operating as a club in the interests of fans. This statement threatening Middlesbrough and the rest of the Football League shows they do not seem to understand the seriousness of the situation they are in, being owned by an entity that has been sanctioned because of links to a person responsible of appalling acts in Ukraine.

"We are not opposed to Chelsea having fans at games, but we will not allow money from ticket sales to flow to a sanctioned entity. Chelsea should spend less time worrying about a few