Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has been disqualified as a director at the English top-flight football club after he was sanctioned by the British government in connection with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Premier League said on Saturday.
The UK government hit Abramovich with sanctions on Thursday, freezing all the Russian billionaire's British assets.
“The board's decision does not impact on the club's ability to train and play its fixtures, as set out under the terms of a licence issued by the government which expires on May 31, 2022,” the league said.
Chelsea's problems continued to mount after several of its credit cards were temporarily frozen during bank assessments of its new operating licence, reports said.
The European and world club champions continue to operate under special, stringent conditions after the British government claimed to have proven Abramovich’s links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Abramovich, 55, has denied links to Russia’s regime, but Mr Putin’s war in Ukraine has led to a major geopolitical shift.
“We welcome the Premier League's action to disqualify Roman Abramovich as a director of the football club. The government has made clear that we need to hold to account those who have enabled the Putin regime,” a spokesman for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said.
“We are open to a sale of the club and would consider an application for a licence to allow that to happen,” he said.
Chelsea’s strict licence is designed to ensure Abramovich will not profit from the Stamford Bridge club’s continued operations, with ticket sales banned and an embargo on new transfers and new contracts for existing stars. The club shop has been forced to shut.
Those new government regulations have led to several company credit cards being paused on a short-term basis as lenders seek more detail on the new licence.
It is understood Chelsea officials held talks with UK government officials on Friday on amendments to it.
Chelsea expect negotiations with Downing Street to continue into next week.
The Premier League club will seek a relaxation of limits such as the £20,000 travel cap for away matches, with a typical Premier League spend closer to £30,000 a match.
The £20,000 cap would almost certainly place their Champions League tie against Lille in France in jeopardy.
Chelsea are thought to have their travel and accommodation bills already paid for the rest of this season for fixtures, but this does not cover cup competitions.
The Blues are scheduled to face Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday, March 19.
Under the current rules, Chelsea cannot sell any new tickets for that match, which would severely hit Championship club Middlesbrough’s gate revenue.
Chelsea cannot sell any new match programmes for Sunday’s Premier League home clash with Newcastle United, so vendors are thought to be unable to work at Stamford Bridge.
Abramovich put Chelsea up for sale on March 2, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with his ownership set to end after 19 years and 18 major trophies.
Abramovich had pledged to write off the club’s £1.5 billion debt and plough all sale proceeds into a charitable foundation to help victims of the war in Ukraine.
Chelsea’s current licence terms have paused the club’s sale, but the government is understood to be ready to take control of the process, or supervise a transfer of ownership by Abramovich.
The government’s sanctions will continue to demand that Abramovich does not profit at all from Chelsea, but the hiatus has not deterred the throng of prospective new owners.
British property tycoon Nick Candy is interested in bidding for the Champions League holders.
A representative for Candy on Friday confirmed the 49-year-old’s interest in Chelsea.
“We are examining the details of yesterday’s announcement and we are still interested in making a bid,” the representative said
“Clearly this is a time of great uncertainty for all Chelsea fans.
“In our view, no one is the owner of a football club – you are the custodian of it for the fans and the community.”
A host of US investors still harbour interest in Chelsea, with Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly part of one consortium, and Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts another with a strongly-rumoured interest.
Shirt sponsor Three said on Thursday that it was suspending its partnership with Chelsea, but travel company Trivago was pledging to continue to support the club in the “transition to new ownership”.
Despite turmoil off the pitch, Chelsea continue to flourish on it. Thursday's 3-1 win over bottom-club Norwich City was a fourth successive win in the Premier League to keep them third in the table.
The Blues take on an in-form Newcastle at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
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If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
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The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
LAST 16
SEEDS
Liverpool, Manchester City, Barcelona, Paris St-Germain, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Valencia, Juventus
PLUS
Real Madrid, Tottenham, Atalanta, Atletico Madrid, Napoli, Borussia Dortmund, Lyon, Chelsea
Zayed Sustainability Prize
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The years Ramadan fell in May
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
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
RESULTS
1.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winners: Hyde Park, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
2.15pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Shamikh, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
2.45pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Hurry Up, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.15pm: Shadwell Jebel Ali Mile Group 3 (TB) Dh575,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Blown by Wind, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer
3.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh72,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Mazagran, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
4.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh64,000 (D) 1,950m
Winner: Obeyaan, Adrie de Vries, Mujeeb Rehman
4.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Shanaghai City, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Results:
5pm: Baynunah Conditions (UAE bred) Dh80,000 1,400m.
Winner: Al Tiryaq, Dane O’Neill (jockey), Abdullah Al Hammadi (trainer).
5.30pm: Al Zahra Handicap (rated 0-45) Dh 80,000 1,400m:
Winner: Fahadd, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi.
6pm: Al Ras Al Akhdar Maiden Dh80,000 1,600m.
Winner: Jaahiz, Jesus Rosales, Eric Lemartinel.
6.30pm: Al Reem Island Handicap Dh90,000 1,600m.
Winner: AF Al Jahed, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel.
7pm: Al Khubairah Handicap (TB) 100,000 2,200m.
Winner: Empoli, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap Dh80,000 2,200m.
Winner: Shivan OA, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi.
RACECARD%20
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3E9pm%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(Dirt)%202%2C000m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E9.30pm%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh70%2C000%20(D)%202%2C000m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E10pm%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Al%20Ain%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Prestige%20(PA)%20Dh100%2C000%20(D)%202%2C000m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E10.30pm%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(D)%201%2C800m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E11pm%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWathba%20Stallions%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(D)%201%2C600m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E11.30pm%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(D)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E12am%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(D)%201%2C400m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)
Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)
Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)
World Cup final
Who: France v Croatia
When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region
Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Sleep Well Beast
The National
4AD
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.
match details
Wales v Hungary
Cardiff City Stadium, kick-off 11.45pm
The specs: 2018 Ford F-150
Price, base / as tested: Dh173,250 / Dh178,500
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 395hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 555Nm @ 2,750rpm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 12.4L / 100km
