Roman Abramovich sanctioned by EU as Chelsea withdraw request to play FA Cup game at Middlesbrough behind closed doors | Football News

The European Union has imposed sanctions on Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in new measures targeting Russia.

The EU included the Russian oligarch in its updated list of individuals facing assets freeze and travel bans over their role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sky Sports News have contacted UEFA to establish whether the latest sanctions will impact Chelsea game against Lille in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The news comes as Chelsea have also withdrawn their request to play Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final against Middlesborough behind closed doors after wide-spread criticism.

Chelsea originally released a statement arguing their game should be behind closed doors because they only sold 650 tickets out of their initial away allocation of 4,620 for the game at the Riverside, meaning they were at a sporting disadvantage and that a behind-closed-doors game would be “the fairest way of proceeding in the current circumstances”.

Middlesborough called the request “bizarre” and “without any merit whatsoever” and the UK government said they saw “no reason” why the match should be played without fans.

But hours later Chelsea withdrew the request. An FA statement said: “After constructive talks between the FA and Chelsea, the club has agreed to remove their request for the Emirates FA Cup Quarter-Final tie against Middlesbrough to be played behind closed doors.

“The FA remains in ongoing discussions with Chelsea, the Premier League and the Government to find a solution that would enable both Chelsea fans to attend games and away fans to attend Stamford Bridge, whilst ensuring sanctions are respected.”

More to follow…

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