Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Abramovich’s Chelsea move could be attempt to avoid sanctions, says MP

Abramovich’s Chelsea move could be attempt to avoid sanctions, says MP

Roman Abramovich’s decision to pass the stewardship of Chelsea to the trustees of the club’s charitable foundation could be an attempt by the Russian to avoid being sanctioned, a Labour MP has said
Roman Abramovich’s decision to pass the stewardship of Chelsea to the trustees of the club’s charitable foundation could be an attempt by the Russian to avoid being sanctioned, a Labour MP has said.

Chris Bryant, the Labour MP who told parliament that Abramovich should be sanctioned last Thursday, questioned the significance of the move to transfer stewardship and raised fears that it could be a ploy to stop the UK government targeting the 55-year-old. Abramovich, who bought Chelsea in 2003, relinquished the running of the club on Saturday and the move was said to have been provoked by the increased focus on him following the invasion of Ukraine.

However Abramovich, who has vehemently disputed reports suggesting his alleged closeness to Vladimir Putin and Russia or that he has done anything to merit being sanctioned, remains Chelsea’s owner and can still fund the club. Chelsea, who could be vulnerable if Abramovich is sanctioned, remain under the same leadership structure and, with sources suggesting that little at the club has changed, Bryant has sought to keep up the heat on the Russian.

“I’m worried that this is a classic Russian ruse to save himself from being sanctioned,” Bryant told the Guardian. “He could save himself a lot of bother by condemning Putin and his criminal invasion of Ukraine.”

On Thursday Bryant used parliamentary privilege to say that Abramovich was identified by the Home Office in 2019 as having links to the Russian state as well as to “corrupt activity and practices”. Telling the House of Commons that he was quoting from a Home Office document leaked to him, Bryant suggested the UK should seize Abramovich’s assets and bar him from owning Chelsea.

Bryant repeated his call for sanctions against Abramovich, but he added that the foreign office is worried about legal challenges from sanctioned individuals. “I think the government is terrified of lawyers,” he said. “The Foreign Office think sanctioned individuals will fight their sanctions in court.”

Bryant has maintained that Abramovich can distance himself from Putin by condemning the Russian president’s actions. Abramovich’s statement on Saturday night made no mention of the invasion of Ukraine. He said that the trustees “are in the best position to look after the interests of the club, players, staff, and fans.”

Chelsea released a short statement on their website on Sunday. It read: “The situation in Ukraine is horrific and devastating. Chelsea FC’s thoughts are with everyone in Ukraine. Everyone at the club is praying for peace.”

Abramovich’s move could attract interest in the club from potential bidders, although Chelsea maintain that the club is not for sale. It is unclear if a sale would be possible if Abramovich is sanctioned. It is possible that Chelsea would be unable to trade if sanctions are imposed on their owner, which could leave the club in a challenging financial position. The government could grant Chelsea an exemption to continue operating in that situation.

With sanctions yet to arrive, though, Abramovich has handed over control to close trusted figures. Chelsea’s charitable foundation is headed by Bruce Buck, the club’s chairman. The other trustees are Emma Hayes, the Chelsea Women’s manager; Piara Powar, the executive director of the anti-racism organisation Fare; Paul Ramos, Chelsea’s director of finance; the sports lawyer John Devine; Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics; and Hugh Robertson, the chairman of the British Olympic Association and a former MP and sports minister.

Football decisions, including transfers, contracts and the future of the manager, Thomas Tuchel, will be the responsibility of the director Marina Granovskaia and the technical and performance director, Petr Cech. They are already heavily influential in running the club and in practical terms little will change for now on a day-to-day basis. One legal expert told the Guardian that transfering stewardship was essentially meaningless in legal terms and ultimately amounted to little more than a PR exercise.

Another issue for Chelsea is that the foundation’s trustees are understood to feel that there are legal and regulatory issues, as well as ethical concerns, over the change of stewardship. No discussions were held before Abramovich’s announcement on Saturday and it is understood that the trustees are yet to agree to the request to take over the running of the club.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×