Chelsea Fans At Norwich Chant Support For Roman Abramovich Hours After Government Sanctions

Roman Abramovich's name was chanted by Chelsea fans before and during Thursday's Premier League game at Norwich City.

Norwich supporters at Carrow Road tried to drown out the chanting by booing.

This came just hours after the UK government imposed sanctions upon Chelsea owner Abramovich due to his alleged links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Abramovich was one of seven wealthy individuals hit by sanctions on Thursday, with UK prime minister Boris Johnson and his government moving to increase pressure on Putin and those close to the president in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

As Chelsea FC is owned in full by Abramovich, it too must now operate under sanctions, although the club has been granted a special license until May 31 to allow its teams to complete their fixtures.

Nadine Dorries, who is the UK's Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, wrote on Twitter on Thursday: "Putin's attack on Ukraine continues & we are witnessing new levels of evil by the hour.

"Today the Government has announced further sanctions against individuals linked to the Russian Government. This list includes Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea Football Club.

"Our priority is to hold those who have enabled the Putin regime to account. Today’s sanctions obviously have a direct impact on Chelsea & its fans. We have been working hard to ensure the club & the national game are not unnecessarily harmed by these important sanctions.

"To ensure the club can continue to compete and operate we are issuing a special license that will allow fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket holders to attend matches while, crucially, depriving Abramovich of benefiting from his ownership of the club.

"I know this brings some uncertainty, but the Government will work with the league & clubs to keep football being played while ensuring sanctions hit those intended. Football clubs are cultural assets and the bedrock of our communities. We're committed to protecting them."

The freezing of Abramovich's assets came eight days after he put Chelsea FC up for sale.

In the statement Abramovich made when he outlined his intention to sell the club, the 55-year-old had vowed to pass on "all net proceeds" from the sale to a new charitable foundation to help "all victims of the war in Ukraine".

Abramovich has denied allegations that he is close to Putin.

But he was believed to be aware that sanctions were a possibility as he was said to want a fast sale, despite valuing Chelsea FC at around £3 billion.

Billionaires including Nick Candy, Hansjorg Wyss and Todd Boehly had all showed interest in buying the club but their proposals have now been put on hold.

However, the Daily Mail has suggested that the government could still permit the sale of Chelsea, albeit under a new license, as long as Abramovich does not benefit financially.

Chelsea fans had shown support for Abramovich by singing his name before their game at Burnley last Saturday.

The timing of their chanting was widely criticized as it was heard over the top of a minute's applause to show solidarity with the victims of the war in Ukraine.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel was asked about the pro-Abramovich chants after his side's 4-0 win over Burnley.

"It's not the moment to do this," Tuchel replied, as reported by Eurosport. "Listen, if we show solidarity, we show solidarity and we should do it together.

"We take the knee together and if an important person from our club or another club unfortunately dies, we show a minute of respect. It's not the moment to give other messages. It's the moment to show respect.

"We do this because this is what we are as a club. We show respect as a club and we need our fans to commit to this minute of applause. At this moment, we do it for Ukraine and there is no second opinion about the situation there. They have our thoughts and our support.

“We should stand together as a club. It's not the moment for other messages."

Despite the uncertainty surrounding Chelsea as a club, on the field things look in good shape for the reigning world champions.

Chelsea were 2-0 up at Norwich inside 14 minutes thanks to goals from Trevoh Chalobah and Mason Mount.

The Blues went on to win 3-1 after further goals by Teemu Pukki and Kai Havertz.

SEE MORE: Norwich 1-3 Chelsea Highlights As Kai Havertz & Badge-Kisser Mason Mount Score & Assist

Chelsea players celebrate Trevoh Chalobah's early goal against Norwich City

IMAGO/Daniel Hambury