Following UK sanctions on Thursday, Abramovich can no longer press ahead with selling the club.
The Government now takes control of the sale and the proceeds would go into a charitable fund, possibly for the war victims in Ukraine.
That effectively leaves Abramovich with two options: agree to the Government’s conditions and lose the club for nothing, or let Chelsea slowly rot.
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The Blues officials proposed amendments to the licence issued to allow them to operate.
Under a wide-ranging raft of restrictions, Chelsea were left unable to sell match tickets, forced to close the club shop and blocked from taking bookings for the Stamford Bridge hotel.
They were told they can no longer buy or sell players, or offer new contracts, and were restricted to a maximum spend of £20,000 on travel to away matches.
They were informed that they can only pay ‘reasonable costs’ towards hosting home fixtures, ‘not exceeding £500,000 per fixture, per team’.
Below are what Chelsea now can and can’t do after UK sanctions
CHELSEA CAN- Play all their matches, home and away;
- Pay the salaries of players and staff;
- Provide stewards, security and food and drink for fans, subject to a £500,000 spending cap;
- Receive TV broadcasting revenues and prize money – although this will be frozen;
- Club sale could potentially still go ahead, as long as Abramovich does not benefit financially.
CHELSEA CAN'T- Sell tickets to home or away fans – only existing ticket holders will be allowed to attend;
- Agree any new transfers or contracts;
- Sell merchandise at the stadium or online;
- Spend more than £20,000 on away travel;
- Carry out any building work on Stamford Bridge.
But there is a view the limits on transport and hosting matches will need to be raised to stop the club losing money.
Chelsea will continue to receive TV broadcast payments and prize money, but this will be frozen. Existing staff and players will continue to be paid.
The club will also ask for clarity over contracts, with a number of star players’ deals due to expire at the end of the season.
As it stands, Chelsea cannot renew any contracts – meaning defenders Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta will leave in the summer.
Manager Thomas Tuchel and his players were addressed by club officials before Thursday night’s win at Norwich and urged to focus on the football, despite the huge uncertainty.
Meanwhile Pat Nevin, who played for the club 193 times, later revealed on BBC 5Live that some members of the club’s staff had already been ‘partially laid off’ in the wake of Thursday’s financial sanctions.
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