Chelsea Sanctions Put Armando Broja Transfer In Jeopardy Thursday, 10th Mar 2022 13:09 With today's news that Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK Government for his connections to Vladimir Putin and with his assets frozen including Chelsea Football Club and a transfer embargo now in place, Armando Broja may be unable to move anywhere next season. Last week Roman Abramovich took steps to try and protect his investments by firstly announcing that he would hand over control of the club to it's Foundation and then by putting the club up for sale. The UK Government has now reacted by placing the Russian owner under sanctions and freezing his assets including Chelsea. This is big news but bad if you are a Chelsea fan, or Chelsea player for that matter, because although special conditions have been allowed, leaving the club able to fulfil it's fixtures this season, there have been other sanctions including a transfer embargo, so what do these sanctions mean. In simple terms these are how it will affect Chelsea FC They can carry on playing games, their games can be shown on TV and they can continue to receive broadcast revenues. They can carry on paying wages and bills but they can’t sell tickets or merchandise or sign players or give players new contracts. It is still unclear how this will affect the supporters of teams yet to visit Stamford Bridge, but it seems all individual tickets in the home sections already sold will be honoured. Supporters can still buy merchandise from third parties who have existing stock, but these suppliers cannot receive new stock. At home games they are allowed to spend up to £500,000 on security, catering and stewarding. For away games they are only allowed to spend up to £20,000 on travel, this will be a big blow to Chelsea's cosseted stars, it could mean no more flights to away games up North and downgrading hotel expenses. No expenditure allowed on new works or refurbishments. Loan arrangements agreed before today can continue and outstanding transfer payments due to clubs can continue to be paid. Already this has had a knock on effect with club sponsors reviewing their positions, but the main issue for Chelsea ongoing is their ability to trade their own players. From a Saints perspective Armando Broja will be able to stay at the St Mary's until the end of the season, but then until the sanctions are lifted, he will be unable to leave the club even on loan, although his salary will be ring fenced. Whether this will have a further knock on effect with Chelsea players taking legal action to claim that Chelsea are in breach of contract and therefore they are entitled to leave the club on a free transfer is yet to be discussed, but it certainly could be a problem for the club. Chelsea with their highly paid players cannot afford them on 40,000 gates alone, they need not only Abramovich's money, but also the income from lucrative sponsor deals, although this will not be an urgent issue in that they have already received the money, going forward it will put the club under financial strain and certainly put in doubt their ability to continue beyond this season. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
Blogs 31 bloggersSouthampton Polls[ Vote here ] |