London — English Premier League club Chelsea said on Thursday they were pressing for talks with the UK government after their billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich was hit with a UK assets freeze and travel ban.
The club said in a statement it would fulfil its upcoming fixtures but indicated restrictions imposed on its day-to-day operations under a special licence were too harsh.
"This will include seeking permission for the licence to be amended in order to allow the club to operate as normal as possible," it added.
Chelsea are now effectively controlled by the British government after sanctions were imposed against Abramovich on Thursday.
Abramovich, who had been under scrutiny following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, had announced he was selling the Premier League club last week.
That process is now on hold, leaving the west London club, ranked by Forbes as the seventh most valuable in world soccer at $3.2 billion, in a state of limbo, operating under a special government licence.
The Russian bought the club in 2003 for a reported 140 million pounds ($184 million) and his investment resulted in the most successful era in their history as they won five Premier League titles, five FA Cups and the Champions League twice.
AFP and Reuters