Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium remained quiet as fans tried to weigh up the implications of the asset freeze on owner Roman Abramovich.
The billionaire owner of the Premier League club was one of seven oligarchs targeted by the UK government over Russia's military activity in Ukraine, all described as part of President Vladimir Putin's inner circle.
Abramovich had announced last week he was selling the European champions, but that is now on hold and Chelsea fans were left speculating about what will happen to the club.
In the short term, it can operate under a special licence, with certain restrictions, including on the sale of tickets and club merchandise – with the club shops shutting yesterday – and the buying of players.
Chelsea said on their website that tickets for the FA Cup quarter-final at Middlesbrough on March 19 would not go on sale as planned on Thursday, with updates to follow "in due course".
Fans outside the stadium said they were "nervous" and "concerned" about the sanctions, though most were not worried about Chelsea's long-term future.
Kai Chapman, 19, said: "I'm quite gutted, really. We could see it coming but as a fan base and a club in general we'll have to move on.
"I get the whole point of sanctioning Abramovich but, in terms of supporters, I think it's a bit harsh to punish us because all we want to do is support our club and go to games, and without being able to purchase tickets it's going to put us in a hard and awkward position."
Syahmi Anuar, 20, who had travelled to London from Malaysia to see the Stamford Bridge ground, said he was "very disappointed".
He said: "I'm very worried about the future of the club because I'm a lifelong fan. I have supported Chelsea since I was a little boy. Once a Blue, always a Blue."
One fan told of the "surreal moment" as he bought the last Chelsea shirt at the club shop before it closed
Martyn Hardiman, 29, was with his two-year-old son, Peter, when staff shut the merchandise shop at Stamford Bridge.
He said: "We went round to the club shop and it was still open and, as we went in, they closed the door behind us (and) put the signs up saying, 'We're closed due to the ongoing sanctions'.
"We went up, got the shirt, and it turned out to be the last shirt sale of the current era, apparently. It was a surreal moment but a cool bit of history."
The impact of the restrictions on Chelsea will soon emerge – with lost Premier League ticket sales alone potentially costing the club more than £2 million. Here are some of the questions fans were asking:
Ticket sales
Season ticket holders will still be able to attend Stamford Bridge, while all match tickets already sold will be honoured.
That covers this Sunday’s game with Newcastle and April 2’s visit of Brentford but the final three home league games of the season against West Ham, Wolves and Watford will all be subject to the new restrictions, along with any home ties should they progress further in the Champions League.
Stamford Bridge holds 41,837 fans, with Chelsea reportedly having around 28,000 season ticket holders – leaving nearly 14,000 seats sold on a match-by-match basis.
That includes the away team allocation – 3,000 for Premier League games at £30 or £23.50 for concessions, worth between £70,000 and £90,000 per match.
While home ticket prices vary, from £80 on general sale in the Westview hospitality section to £25 for club members for a restricted view in the Matthew Harding Stand lower section, the various areas average out to £58 on general sale or £56 for members.
With just shy of 11,000 tickets unsold in those areas relative to a capacity crowd, that would mean another £600,000-plus missing from the club coffers and around £700,000 per match in all – an estimated £2.1m for the three games combined.
Chelsea Supporters Trust Board member Dan Silver fears for the impact on not just the club but also a host of part-time employees.
He said: “It is not just the players and supporters. It is also the matchday staff, who maybe only work one day a week who rely on the extra money to come in to help themselves live."
Commercial revenue
Chelsea’s December accounts showed commercial revenue of £153.6m for the 2020-21 season, down slightly from £170.4m the previous season but holding up far better than ticket sales under the pressures of the pandemic.
A January survey by Euromericas Sport Marketing ranked Chelsea seventh in the world for shirt sales in 2021 with 1.31m sold, behind Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester United, Juventus and Barcelona.
With shirts priced at £69.95 on the club’s website, or £84.95 with player name and number printing, the loss of that revenue is potentially significant and will affect even the Newcastle and Brentford games – though, with just two months of the season remaining, most shirt sales in particular may already be accounted for.
Results
2.30pm: Expo 2020 Dubai – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,600m; Winner: Barakka, Ray Dawson (jockey), Ahmad bin Harmash (trainer)
3.05pm: Now Or Never – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: One Idea, Andrea Atzeni, Doug Watson
3.40pm: This Is Our Time – Handicap (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Perfect Balance, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar
4.15pm: Visit Expo 2020 – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Kaheall, Richard Mullen, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.50pm: The World In One Place – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1.900m; Winner: Castlebar, Adrie de Vries, Helal Al Alawi
5.25pm: Vision – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Shanty Star, Richard Mullen, Rashed Bouresly
6pm: Al Wasl Plaza – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Jadwal, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson
Poacher
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Asia Cup 2018 final
Who: India v Bangladesh
When: Friday, 3.30pm, Dubai International Stadium
Watch: Live on OSN Cricket HD
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'The Lost Daughter'
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson
Rating: 4/5
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Brief scores:
Juventus 3
Dybala 6', Bonucci 17', Ronaldo 63'
Frosinone 0
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How to turn your property into a holiday home
- Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
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Results
5.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Al Battar, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer).
6.05pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Good Fighter, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
6.40pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Way Of Wisdom, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
7.15pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 2,200m; Winner: Immortalised, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
7.50pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Franz Kafka, James Doyle, Simon Crisford.
8.25pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Mayadeen, Connor Beasley, Doug Watson.
9pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Chiefdom, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
CHELSEA'S NEXT FIVE GAMES
Mar 10: Norwich(A)
Mar 13: Newcastle(H)
Mar 16: Lille(A)
Mar 19: Middlesbrough(A)
Apr 2: Brentford(H)
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPAD%20(2022)
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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Arabian Gulf League fixtures:
Friday:
- Emirates v Hatta, 5.15pm
- Al Wahda v Al Dhafra, 5.25pm
- Al Ain v Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, 8.15pm
Saturday:
- Dibba v Ajman, 5.15pm
- Sharjah v Al Wasl, 5.20pm
- Al Jazira v Al Nasr, 8.15pm
The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
Edited by Sahm Venter
Published by Liveright
