Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich sanctioned by UK government: Live news and latest updates

1/2 for English teams in Europe tonight after West Ham’s earlier defeat.

Goals from Marc Albrighton and Kelechi Iheanacho secure a home win for Leicester against Rennes.

Tonight’s games have finished:

• Norwich 1-3 Chelsea
• Southampton 1-2 Newcastle
• Wolves 4-0 Watford
• Leeds 0-3 Aston Villa

Sevilla win the first leg 1-0, thanks to this goal from Munir.

Fulham are set to sign Margate forward Martial Godo after the striker impressed during a trial period at the club.

The 18-year-old had been playing in the Isthmian Premier League, the seventh tier of English football, but his form had caught the eye of Fulham scouts and was then brought in on trial with the under-23s side last month.

More here from Peter Rutzler.

Three games have just kicked off, Norwich hosting Chelsea, Watford at Wolves and Aston Villa at Leeds.

In some ways, Jack Wilshere has been here before.

Three weeks after arriving in Denmark, he is being hailed as a “messiah”. A weight of expectation rests on his shoulders just as it did with Arsenal and England in his early days.

Only now, it comes at AGF Aarhus, where he is viewed by supporters as someone who has come “to save” them. His arrival in the country’s second-largest city, the European Capital of Culture in 2017, has attracted unprecedented interest.

Matt Woosnam went to Denmark to explore the hype.

Chelsea sponsors Three have suspended their sponsorship of the club in the wake of the sanctions dished out to owner Roman Abramovich.

Three’s deal with Chelsea is thought to be worth £40 million per year.

More here on this story.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Appealing for a foul on Gianluigi Donnarumma after the goalkeeper’s mistake gave Madrid their first goal, Pochettino said: “Real’s first goal changed the match.

“I wonder what the VAR is doing because for me there is something else. It’s a shame, when you see the action, there’s a foul.

“After that, the match changed. For 60 minutes we dominated, that goal changed everything.

“It’s impossible not to talk about this big mistake made by the referees. It’s hard to accept. It’s incredible that this is happening in 2022.”

The psychological implosion might have something to do with it…

4.4. Reasonable costs of travel to and from Fixtures (or for the purposes of training or practice) by any of the Club teams for players and essential staff (including the reasonable cost of any travel company making such arrangements and necessary security staff or contractors) not exceeding the value of £20,000 per game per Club team.

This is where the practicalities of the sanctions properly kick in.

The £20,000 limit would presumably prevent Chelsea flying to, or staying overnight at, any of their remaining away games in the Premier League, unless those trips have been paid for in advance. To put that into some context, a return trip by private jet for domestic travel for a party of around 50 people might normally cost around double that amount.

Chelsea would normally travel with players, technical and coaching staff, medics and security, and would often incorporate an overnight stay. They will have to cut back appreciably to fall within the new guidelines.

A big blow for Sean Dyche’s team ahead of their relegation showdown.

Some non-Chelsea related news with the other big story of the day.

PSG fell apart last night. Even after watching Everton on Monday night, PSG managed to produce the worst defensive performance of the week.

The Athletic’s Michael Cox has had a look at how it all unfolded.

“Following the UK government’s announcement that sanctions have been imposed against Roman Abramovich, the Premier League can confirm tonight’s match between Norwich City FC and Chelsea FC will go ahead as planned.

“The government has issued an initial licence to enable Chelsea FC to continue to train, play its fixtures and fulfill its obligations for the rest of the season.

“The league will now work with the club and the government to ensure the season will proceed as planned and in line with the government’s intention.”

After a four hour silence, the club have provided an update.

“Chelsea Football Club has been advised that its owner Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK government.

“By virtue of his 100 per cent ownership of Chelsea FC plc and affiliated entities, Chelsea FC would normally be subject to the same sanctions regime as Mr Abramovich. However, the UK government has issued a general licence that permits Chelsea FC to continue certain activities.

“We will fulfil our men’s and women’s team fixtures today against Norwich and West Ham, respectively, and intend to engage in discussions with the UK Government regarding the scope of the licence. This will include seeking permission for the licence to be amended in order to allow the Club to operate as normal as possible. We will also be seeking guidance from the UK Government on the impact of these measures on the Chelsea Foundation and its important work in our communities.

“The club will update further when it is appropriate.”

Via Dominic Fifield: “Thomas Tuchel and his players were on a coach heading for Norwich ahead of this evening’s Premier League fixture at Carrow Road, oblivious to the fact their world was about to be turned upside down. They had no clue this was coming.

“The squad only became aware via social media alerts, or as their mobile phones trilled to messages pinged from concerned friends and family. Likewise, there was no guidance or reassurance offered in advance from on high because, in truth, everyone had been caught on the hop. This was no way to celebrate the club’s 117th birthday.”