Roman Abramovich: Chelsea must not be a 'fire sale' - Sadiq Khan warns

Sadiq Khan referred to Chelsea as a 'great Premier League club'

The mayor of London says it is important to ensure Chelsea FC is not sold off as part of a "fire sale".

Owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned over his alleged links to Vladimir Putin as the UK targeted more oligarchs after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

He was hit with an asset freeze and travel ban by the UK government on Thursday.

Sadiq Khan urged the government to remember there are millions of Chelsea fans who are "completely innocent".

Ministers issued a licence authorising Chelsea to continue playing matches.

Season ticket holders and those with games already booked can still attend matches, but no new tickets can be sold and the club's merchandise shop will close.

Roman Abramovich was attempting to sell the football club

Mr Khan, a Liverpool fan, described Chelsea as a "great Premier League club" and backed the government's moves to sanction and seize assets of Russian oligarchs allegedly close to Putin.

"What's also important though is we don't allow a situation where any asset which may be owned by a Russian oligarch close to Putin is sold off in a fire sale," he said.

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The mayor added: "What's important is for these assets to be seized, I want some of these empty homes to be used to house some of these Ukrainians fleeing the war zone.

"Some of these assets I want sold off to be used to support those Ukrainians, both who are still in Ukraine and those who have left Ukraine."