Image source, Getty Images

• Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich sanctioned by UK government.
• Premier League club frozen as part of action; proposed sale halted for time being.
• Chelsea club shop must close, no more match tickets can be sold.
• Fans who bought season tickets or individual match tickets before today can attend games.
• Club can fulfil fixtures and pay wages of all employees, including players and coaching staff.
• No new player sales or purchases will be permitted under the licence, and discussions on new deals for players who are out of contract in the summer - such as men's team captain Cesar Azpilicueta - must go on hold
• Chelsea can pay "reasonable" costs of travel to and from fixtures but not exceeding £20,000 per game per team.
• Pay "reasonable" costs towards hosting home fixtures, not exceeding £500,000 per fixture per team.
• Broadcasters can broadcast any fixture involving the club.

READ MORE on the Abramovich sanctions here

The government sanctions and special licence also apply to Chelsea Women.

Emma Hayes' side are in Women's Super League action away at West Ham this evening (19:45 GMT).

They are currently second in the WSL table, eight points behind leaders Arsenal but with three games in hand.

They are one of the most successful sides in the women's game, winning 12 major trophies in their history, including a domestic treble in 2020-21.

They also won the Community Shield and reached the final of the Women's Champions League, where they were beaten by Barcelona.

Image source, Getty Images

Faisal Islam
BBC Economics Editor on BBC Radio 5 Live

More from Faisal Islam: “Chelsea fans are obviously very concerned about the impact. Chelsea will be affected in terms of finance, commerce, tickets etc – this is a remarkable moment. A number of property magnates are wanting to buy the club but that was the easy way out. The process has been interfered with – and it’s not going to be easy anymore.

"The government will be saying, 'we need a sense of perspective here'. Football is very important, they’ve protected the games being played, Chelsea can still go for the Champions League. Be thankful for that. You’ve had loads of success in the past but I think the brutal reality is that it’s not going to continue.”

Faisal Islam
BBC Economics Editor on BBC Radio 5 Live

BBC Economics Editor Faisal Islam speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live: “This had been called for by number of politicians. He’s the most high profile and famous of Russian oligarchs so when it dropped, it was something of a shock to see that name written. The government had been telling us, after the political pressure to make this move, there was all sorts of legal due process to go through to put someone on this list.

“It’s not the biggest economic impact the British people will be feeling as a result of what’s happening, but in terms of cultural impact. Chelsea was bought with some fanfare by Roman Abramovich and he has had success with billions poured into Stamford Bridge. It will come as a shock to football fans and we don’t doubt his lawyers will be trying to find ways around it as we speak.”

The Chelsea Supporters' Trust says fans must be involved in discussions about the club's future.

It "implores the Government to conduct a swift process to minimise the uncertainty over Chelsea's future, for supporters and for supporters to be given a golden share as part of a sale of the club."

Culture secretary Nadine Dorries posted a statement , externalon Twitter confirming Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned and the impact it will have on Chelsea.

"Putin’s attack on Ukraine continues and 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 and its fans. We have been working hard to ensure the club and 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 licence 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 and 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."

Laura Scott
BBC Sport senior news reporter

Today’s sanctions against Roman Abramovich and the licence that’s been drawn up for Chelsea does, at the moment, halt any prospect of a sale.

However, the BBC understands that the government is open in the future to considering a licence that would permit the sale of the club, but that would have conditions so that the proceeds would not be able to go to Abramovich.

This is because they think the viability of the club is potentially best served if it is sold.

Chelsea's men's team travel to Norwich tonight, kick off at Carrow Road is at 19:30 GMT. They also travel to Lille for the Champions League last 16 second leg next week.

• Norwich v Chelsea (19:30 GMT)
• Chelsea v Newcastle (Sunday, 14:00 GMT)
• Lille v Chelsea (16 March, 20:00 GMT)
• Middlesbrough v Chelsea (19 March, 17:15 GMT)
• Chelsea v Brentford (2 April, 15:00 GMT)

Image source, Getty Images

Here are some of the key points from the special licence put in place by the government:

• Chelsea are able to pay the wages of all employees, including players and coaching staff.
• They can pay "reasonable" costs of travel to and from fixtures but not exceeding £20,000 per game per team.
• Pay "reasonable" costs towards hosting home fixtures, not exceeding £500,000 per fixture per team.
• Fans who bought season tickets or individual match tickets before 10 March 2022 can attend games.
• Broadcasters can broadcast any fixture involving the club.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport football correspondent on BBC Radio 5 Live

BBC football reporter Simon Stone speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live: “I’ve received messages this morning saying meetings were supposed to be taking place with prospective buyers today with the deadline for expressions of interest placed on that for next Tuesday. Now the whole situation seems to be in turmoil. BBC Sport has been told the whole idea of these sanctions to stop Abramovich profiting.

“The special licence put in place by the government would allow Chelsea to pay its players, fulfil its fixtures and honour tickets already sold but wouldn’t be able to sell further tickets and the club store closed.

"If that on a very micro level is how the club will have to operate, you have to wonder what this means for the sale of Chelsea Football Club and for Chelsea in general because clearly we’re talking about huge amounts of money the club will lose from its normal operating expenditure.”

The action by the government today means Chelsea cannot sell any further matchday tickets.

So how many season ticket holders do Chelsea have this season? That information does not appear to be in the public domain.

However the Birmingham Mail conducted a survey in 2020, external of season ticket holders and reported that Chelsea have 28,000 season ticket holders out of their 41,837 capacity.

Abramovich is one of seven oligarchs to be hit with fresh sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans.

The list also includes billionaires Igor Sechin and Oleg Deripaska, both seen as allies of Vladimir Putin.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said "there can be no safe havens" for those who have supported the invasion.

Read more from our BBC News colleagues here.

Interested parties had been considering bids for Chelsea, but under the licence, while they can operate, they cannot be sold.

We ran a story on Nick Candy, a multi-millionaire, who had been looking at the club. No movement is now permitted.

More detail on this breaking story.

Assets frozen includes Chelsea FC.

BBC Sport understands the Premier League was informed 15 minutes before it was announced.

The Government are putting in place a licence to ensure the club can fulfil its fixtures, staff and players can be paid, and as a significant cultural asset that it can continue.

This is about Roman Abramovich not being able to make any money or benefit from Chelsea FC.

Season ticket holders can still attend games they have tickets for but club can not now sell any more tickets that haven’t been sold already

The merchandise shop will be closed.

From Reuters: Britain said on Thursday it had imposed asset freezes on Russian businessmen Roman Abramovich, Igor Sechin, Oleg Deripaska and Dmitri Lebedev after they were added to the country's sanctions list.

The situation with Chelsea is under review, meaning the club can still operate, but the sale is on hold and only season tickets can attend matches.

So with last night's stunning events in mind, we want your thoughts.

There are two questions in mind...

• What next for Pochettino? Is Man Utd the job for him and if not, where is?
• YOUR top three strikers in the world. Is Benzema on that list? Give your shouts on texts and tweets.

We'll feature as many as we can.

Julien Laurens
French football expert on BBC Radio 5 live

Unless PSG can't get Zinedine Zidane, he is their objective, Poch is out. I don't even think Poch wants to be there; I think he wants to be back in England.

He is still at the hotel in Paris, he's been there for a year. His family are back in London. I don't think he wants to be there and I wonder if that is part of the problem. Of course, he's done some good things, but tonight is a disaster. You can't let your team sink like they did without responding.