What has happened at Chelsea and how will it impact players and fans?

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK Government on Thursday, putting the Stamford Bridge club’s future into doubt.

Here, the PA news agency looks at what’s happened and what’s next for the Blues.

The UK Government has imposed sanctions on Abramovich as “a person who is/has been involved in destabilising Ukraine”, in the wake of Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government believe Russian-Israeli billionaire Abramovich has had a “close relationship for decades” with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin. Abramovich has always denied those links.

Chelsea would have been frozen just like Abramovich’s other UK assets, but for a special licence granted by the government to allow the Stamford Bridge club to keep operating.

Abramovich put the club up for sale on March 2, in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A sale could still happen despite the sanctions against Abramovich however, but that will require special government dispensation.

The government has said it remains “open” to the possibility of a Chelsea sale, but that would require Treasury approval for a new licence. Most of the existing interested parties are expected to continue their candidacies. Abramovich would not be allowed to profit from the sale. The 55-year-old had pledged to donate all proceeds of the Chelsea sale to a new charitable foundation to benefit the victims of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The government could either oversee a sale entirely, with funds frozen or diverted to a charitable scheme. Or Abramovich could be allowed to continue with a sale, but that would require heavy conditions and oversight.

Yes. The Blues will press on with their fixtures, for both the men’s and women’s teams. Chelsea