Roman Abramovich has been disqualified as a director of Chelsea by the Premier League, with the sale of the club still expected to go ahead.
The decision from the English top-flight comes after the billionaire was sanctioned by the UK government due to alleged relations with Russian president Vladimir Putin amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
A statement from the Premier League clarified that the latest ban has no affect on the squad and their fixtures.
It read: “Following the imposition of sanctions by the UK Government, the Premier League board has disqualified Roman Abramovich as a director of Chelsea Football Club.
“The board’s decision does not impact on the club’s ability to train and play its fixtures, as set out under the terms of a licence issued by the Government, which expires on May 31 2022.”
The government welcomed the decision in a statement and confirmed it is open to allowing a sale of the club.
A spokesperson said: “We need to hold to account those who have enabled the Putin regime.
“We are open to a sale of the club and would consider an application for a licence to allow that to happen.”
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The stance from the Premier League will have no impact on the club and their attempts to find a new owner.
New York merchant bank the Raine Group, who have been put in charge of processing the sale, have assessed the terms of the licence and agreed a route forward for the sale with the government.
Abramovich is understood to have given Raine Group the green light to sell the club, despite the process being out of his hands and no proceeds going his way.
British property tycoon Nick Candy has confirmed his strong interest in buying the Blues and is in the process of building a consortium.
For the time being, the club are in talks with the government to ease some of the restrictions that have been put in place, such as no merchandise being sold.
They have been issued a new license which allows staff to be paid and existing season ticket holders to attend matches and a budget of £900,000 on match days, up from the original £500,000.