It is not certain that the Champions League match between Lille OSC and Chelsea will take place on Wednesday evening, it reports L’Equipe Tuesday. The London club has been licensed in England to continue football-related activities after the sanctions against club owner Roman Abramovich, but is also believed to require a special license. However, UEFA emphasizes that the match will continue.
Abramovich already announced a week and a half ago that he wants to sell Chelsea, but he is still the de facto owner. The UK government’s decision to include Abramovich on its sanctions list and freeze his assets has greatly increased the rush to find a new owner. Chelsea have been given a ‘special license’ to continue playing football, but are not allowed to buy or sell players, hand out new contracts and sell individual tickets or merchandising.
On Tuesday, the European Union also announced sanctions against Abramovich over his alleged links to Vladimir Putin. Chelsea’s owner had “access to the president and maintained a good relationship with him,” the EU said. “His relationship with the Russian leader has contributed to his hefty net worth.” Abramovich has been put on a ‘blacklist’ of people who are not allowed to travel and whose belongings are being frozen. The blacklist includes the names of several Russian oligarchs.
Due to EU sanctions, Chelsea may need a special license to operate on French soil on Wednesday. There seems to be a good chance that it will be provided on time, but there is no certainty yet. “If no exception is made, the game will be in jeopardy,” quotes L’Equipe a source about the uncertain situation. UEFA is confident that the match can go ahead. Chelsea defend a 3-0 lead after the first meeting three weeks ago.
The sanctions have resulted in Chelsea’s travel budget plummeting to £20,000, or just under 24,000 euros. Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea’s coach, however, said on Tuesday that his players will ‘just’ travel to Lille. “I’ve heard that we have a plane. We can both go there and back by plane. If that doesn’t work, we’ll take the train. Otherwise, the bus. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll drive a seven seater† We’ll be there. Of course we talk about the organization, but we have fantastic employees who organize our trips. We have dedicated people in all parts of the club. The situation doesn’t feel very different from normal.”
Chelsea – Middlesbrough
Due to the sanctions against Abramovich, Chelsea are no longer allowed to sell single tickets for their own duels. The Blues submitted a request to the English Football Association (FA) to make an exception for the upcoming FA Cup match Middlesbrough, but received no response. Therefore, a second request was made ‘with extreme reluctance’ to play the game completely without supporters, under the guise of sporting integrity. Also, fans of Boro not be welcome. The request, which Middelsbrough called “bizarre” and “completely unfounded” in a statement, was withdrawn by Chelsea later on Tuesday.