Topics: Roman Abramovich, Chelsea, English Premier League
The Russian owner has seen his assets in the United Kingdom frozen, which will unfortunately inflict collateral damage on the Premier League giants.

What Chelsea and its current owner Roman Abramovich have been fearing has finally arrived. In a huge blow to the Premier League giants, the UK government have announced long-awaited sanctions on the Russian oligarch, who has alleged ties with Vladimir Putin, with all his assets in Britain being frozen in a bid to tackle to ongoing war in Ukraine.

This includes the West London giants which is still owned by the controversial billionaire despite announcing his decision to put the club up for sale. The Premier League champions, who are due in action on Thursday against bottom-of-the-table Norwich, were granted a special license due to their "significant cultural asset" status, thus permitting them to carry on their day-to-day business. However, the champions are still facing several roadblocks as a result of this sanction.

What will become of Thomas Tuchel's side? How long will they remain frozen? Will the continental powerhouse be sold anytime soon? Here's a quick dive into the UK's recent sanctions and what it will mean for Chelsea.

Can Roman Abramovich still sell Chelsea?

As put by sports lawyer Stephen Taylor Heath, who appeared on Sky Sports News to break down what the UK sanctions will entail, the short answer is no. The freezing of an asset typically prevents it from being sold, but as pointed out by Matt Law of the Telegraph, there is a way around this latest roadblock.

The sale of Chelsea could go through as long as it's overseen by a third party, be it an administrator or the UK government itself. Of course, this would require approval from the government and the issuing of a new license, as the current special license prevents that. However, those in charge would have to make sure that the sale would be beneficial to Chelsea, as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries stated that this move is not intended to hurt the Blues, but rather prevent Abramovich from benefiting from his ownership at Stamford Bridge.

Hence, if the government and the Premier League can ensure the sale of Chelsea without the funds ending up in Roman's hands, then it could theoretically go through.

What Premier League and Chelsea deals are and are not affected by the UK sanctions?

The club are prevented from entering new deals but have been permitted to fulfill their outstanding contractual obligations. This means that the broadcasting deals can be fulfilled while the club can carry on paying current players, coaches, and staff.

However, the London giants cannot enter new deals or secure future revenue sources for the meanwhile. This means new players cannot be signed while the current ones cannot renew their deals. Merchandise also cannot be sold by the club, but retailers who have already purchased merchandise from the club can continue selling them so long as the payments are not made to the Premier League side.

How are Chelsea fans and Premier League supporters affected by the UK sanctions?

The latest sanctions will unfortunately affect the fans as well as Chelsea have been prohibited from selling home and away tickets from here on. Season ticket holders will be permitted to attend matches as they have already purchased seats at Stamford Bridge for future games; however, this will have a detrimental role in the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League as those tickets are often bought separately from season tickets. This means that should Havertz and Co. get past Lille in Europe, they could play away games without fans and the home games behind closed doors.

What effect will the UK sanctions on Roman Abramovich have on the remainder of Chelsea's season?

As mentioned earlier, Chelsea can continue to function, but their ability to function has been crippled. The club can spend a maximum of £500,000 on staging games. Additionally, Abramovich's side cannot spend more than £20,000 on any away game travel, which raises several logistic issues. For comparison, playing an away game within England can cost a team £30,000 for flight, security, food, etc. It will be interesting to see how the Blues get past this spending cap for Wednesday's trip to Lille.

What role will this play in Chelsea's transfer business?

While the focus of the club will be on the here and now, not the upcoming summer transfer window, Chelsea will be wary of the detrimental effect these sanctions will have on their plans to strengthen their squad. No player can be signed until the sanctions are lifted. Additionally, their current sponsorships could take a turn for the worse, with shirt sponsors Three announcing that they are reviewing their relationship with the London giants.

And finally, what are the biggest concerns regarding their current squad?

It's no secret that Thiago Silva, Antonio Rüdiger, César Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen are all out of contract this summer. This means that Chelsea are barred from official offering these players new contracts until May 31.