Chelsea reveal they are pressing the Government DAILY to allow them to sell tickets

Chelsea are pressing the UK Government to allow them to sell tickets to their upcoming matches after sanctions were placed on owner Roman Abramovich due to his ties to Vladimir Putin.

The Government has placed the club under a special licence after sanctioning Abramovich. The licence is designed to prevent Chelsea – and by extension Abramovich – generating any new revenue, including from ticket sales. 

As it stands Chelsea cannot sell tickets and only season ticket holders are allowed to attend matches, or those who purchased tickets before the sanctions were placed on Abramovich on March 10.

Chelsea travel to France to play Lille in the Champions League on Wednesday before meeting Middlesbrough in the FA Cup in Saturday’s late kick-off.

The licence has already been amended since it was first imposed, with the limit on matchday spending increased from £500,000 to £900,000, and the club have already insisted they will push to have it further amended in order for them to be able to operate as close to normal as possible. 

Only season ticket holders or fans who have already bought tickets can attend Chelsea games

Owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned last week over his ties to Vladimir Putin

A Chelsea statement on Monday said: ‘We are pressing the Government to allow our supporters to have access to tickets. 

‘Meetings are taking place daily in search of a resolution. In addition, the Premier League and FA are also discussing with the Government the sporting integrity issues raised if they do not permit fans to attend.

‘We are aware of the high level of frustration our supporters are facing over this issue, and we are doing everything we can to resolve it as soon as possible.’

They added that they were awaiting further updates from the Government regarding the sale of further tickets for the FA Cup quarter-final tie at Middlesbrough. 

Chelsea ran out 1-0 winners against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Sunday, their first home game since Abramovich’s sanctions hit.

Afterwards, manager Thomas Tuchel insisted there is no danger of him leaving the club before the end of the season, no matter how hard things get if the club isn’t sold.

Sportsmail reported last week that Manchester United are monitoring developments at Chelsea as they look to appoint their next full-time head coach. 

But when asked about whether Tuchel, whose current deal expires in 2024, will see the season out at Chelsea given the uncertainty, he replied: ‘Me? If I stay till the end of the season? Sure, there is no doubt that I stay until the end of the season. Absolutely.’

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel insisted he will be at the club until at least the end of the season

Chelsea have been operating under a special licence since the sanctions were imposed 

Tuchel’s pledge arrived after the club’s technical and performance advisor Cech fell short of assuring fans that Chelsea can see out the campaign amid the major financial issues following Abramovich’s sanctioning.

‘Well, we have to admit that we go day by day as I said, because it’s not in our hands. The conversations are going on that we can operate in a way that we can finish the season.

‘Obviously it’s a difficult situation and we’re part of the Premier League as well, one of the best competitions in the world and I believe that for us to carry on to finish the season, it would obviously help everybody involved in the Premier League too.’