Although they are not precise weapons, economic sanctions can have a wide range of collateral effects.
English Premier League squad Chelsea F.C., which is currently owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich (although it is up for sale), has been frozen as an asset of Abramovich’s by the U.K. government. According to ESPN, the Blues have also been subjected to a number of regulations and sanctions.
- Chelsea will not sell home match tickets. However, season tickets or other tickets purchased before March 10th will still be valid. There will not be away supporters at Chelsea games that haven’t yet been on sale.
- All players and employees can be paid by the club.
- Travel costs for away games limited to a maximum of £20,000.
- Cost of home games for security, catering and stewarding capped at £500,000 per game.
- Transfers and loans can be paid to or from clubs that were established before March 10.
- Broadcasters may show Chelsea games or pay revenue, but they must also freeze these funds.
- The club cannot pay the profits of any third-party who has club merchandise.
Chelsea has been unable to extend contracts with any of its players. This is the worst setback for the club. Three stalwarts of the team who have been foundational to their recent run of success — Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and captain Cesar Azpilicueta — all have contracts that expire at the end of the season.
To make matters worse, Chelsea’s uniform sponsor Three is reviewing their agreement with the club, which is said to expire in 2023.
This is because Abramovich, according to the U.K government, holds substantial stock in Evraz PLC, a Russian steel firm that could have been providing supplies for the Russian invasion.
“Evraz PLC is or has been involved in providing financial services, or making available funds, economic resources, goods or technology that could contribute to destabilising Ukraine or undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine – which includes potentially supplying steel to the Russian military which may have been used in the production of tanks,” the U.K. government said in a statement.
A soccer team which had nothing whatsoever to do with Abramovich’s potential shady business dealings, or Russia’s status, now has its traveling funds cut, their revenue stream choked, and the possibility of losing their contract players. It begs the question, how serious is this attempt to hold Putin’s cronies accountable and how simple is cancel culture?
In this particular case, no one within the Chelsea organization has supported the war or condoned Russia’s actions, and yet everyone in Chelsea’s camp is suffering major consequences — right down to the fans.
It is impossible to erase someone or take away their livelihoods due to the acts of another. The cancel culture mentality can lead to people being made to suffer because of something that they did not do. If this mentality is accepted, people will suffer more unjustly and see their lives drastically changed.
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