Chelsea’s shirt sponsor, the telecom brand, Three, has suspended its £40million deal with the Blues after the sanctioned the club’s owner, .

Abramovich will be subject to an asset freeze and travel ban, under the terms of the sanction, which was announced by Prime minister , this morning.

The news has immediately thrown Chelsea’s future – including the club’s extensive sponsorship arrangements – into doubt.

Last year, Chelsea made £154M from commercial deals despite the coronavirus pandemic.In 2019, before Covid struck, the club earned £200M in sponsorship.

Analysts are warning other sponsors could quickly follow Three, who will remove their logo from shirts until further notice, and review their involvement with the club, hoping to avoid ‘guilt by association’ with a Russian oligarch accused of making financial gain from his relationship with President .

Announcement of Three UK’s suspension arrives hours after the company announced packages to support Ukrainian refugees arriving into the UK, with pre-paid 30-day pay-as-you-go sim cards available to them. 

‘In light of the government’s recently announced sanctions, we have requested Chelsea Football Club temporarily suspend our sponsorship of the club, including the removal of our brand from shirts and around the stadium until further notice,’ a spokesperson said.

‘We recognise that this decision will impact the many Chelsea fans who follow their team passionately.However, we feel that given the circumstances, and the Government sanction that is in place, it is the right thing to do.’ 

Brands worldwide have been desperate to distance themselves from Russia following Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, which began two weeks ago today.

The situation in Ukraine deteriorates daily with Putin accused of war crimes after his forces have consistently bombed cities, hitting civilian targets, including a children’s hospital. 

‘Three’ have been the first to blink within hours of Abramovich being sanctioned.

The company has admitted it is ‘reviewing the situation and are in discussions with Chelsea FC’, according to.

Other leading brands, including, Nike, which has a £55M kit deal with Chelsea, as well as car manufacturer, slot gacor Hyundai, and the watchmaker, Hublot, which have deals worth over £15M combined, will also have to weigh up their next move.

Not only has Chelsea’s owner now been sanctioned, but the club was heavily criticised after its supporters chanted Abramovich’s name during the minute’s applause for Ukraine ahead of the Premier League match against Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday. 

The Chelsea Supporter’s Trust has had to urge all Chelsea fans not to sing the name of owner Roman Abramovich during moments of solidarity with Ukraine. 

‘Sanctions placed on Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich by the UK government casts a shadow over Chelsea’s many commercial agreements,’ said Conrad Wiacek, Head of Sport Analysis at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Chelsea is one of the assets that is now frozen, as a result of sanctioning Abramovich.

The Government said it will issue a special licence that allows fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket holders to attend matches.

But while season ticket-holders can still attend matches, no more tickets can be sold, no transfer activity will be allowed and the club shop has been closed. And the club is limited to a £20,000 spend on away travel.The licence is in force until May 31.

Abramovich’s proposed £3BN sale of the club, confirmed last week, is also on hold.

The sale can only progress if Abramovich is able to prove to the UK government that he will not personally benefit from the transaction.

‘While Chelsea has a sporting licence to continue trading as a soccer club, many brands will be wary of guilt by association,’ Wiacek said.

‘Chelsea FC is still one of the biggest clubs in the world and its on-field success still makes it an attractive commercial partner.

<div class="art-ins mol-factbox floatRHS news" data-version="2" id="mol-fdc96110-a06f-11ec-b92b-6b9bc6d941cd" website shirt sponsor, Three, SUSPENDS £40M deal