“It’s a sad day in the club’s 19 year history” – Fans react hilariously as UK government sanctions Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK government, a decision that was a matter of when not if. The Russian billionaire is alleged to have close ties with president Vladimir Putin and was eventually going to bear the brunt of his association with the Kremlin.

Last week, Abramovich released an official statement where he declared that he was putting the west London club up for sale. The proceeds from the sale would then be used to help the victims of the Ukraine war.

However, the club were prepared to follow the due procedure and there were no plans to fast track the sale.

Now, due to the latest developments, the Russian oligarch's assets in Britain have been frozen and he will not be allowed to do any business in the country. Furthermore. he is also banned from entering the UK. This has put the future of the club in jeopardy and the sale on hold as sanctions have been placed prior to any agreements.

Amidst this, the Stamford Bridge side have been given a special sporting license to continue their functioning as a footballing entity. This means that the Premier League club will continue to pay the wages and bills on their books as usual. However, there are fresh troubles the club will have to deal with.

These sanctions will hurt Chelsea in both financial and footballing aspects

For the foreseeable future, the club has been banned from selling any away or home tickets for their games for the remainder of the season. Only the season ticket holders can come and watch the matches. The Blues will also not be able to sell any merchandise from this point forth as well.

These sanctions can really hurt the club, not just for financial reasons but for footballing ones as well. Roman Abramovich's club will also be unable to complete player transfers and contract negotiations. This increases doubts around the future of Antonio Rudiger, Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen, three important players whose contracts expire in June 2022.

Undoubtedly, the Russian's arrival on the scene in 2003 changed Chelsea's fortune for good. They are one of the most successful clubs in England and Abramovich has always invested in them wholeheartedly. In fact, since he bought Chelsea, no English club has won more trophies (21).

The west London club is currently valued at £3 billion and their Russian owner has decided to write off a loan worth £1.5 billion to attract more potential buyers. This is definitely a dark day for the club's fanbase, who know the future of the club has been thrown into limbo.

But social media always produces a bag of mixed emotions and there were hilarious reactions from rival fans to Roman Abramovich getting hit by these sanctions.