A Number Of Countries Are Preparing International Sanctions In The Midst Of The Russia-Ukraine Heat, What Will Happen To Roman Abramovich And Chelsea?

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich (Instagram.com/@_roman_abramovich_)

JAKARTA - The escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine has not only affected the domestic life of the two countries. but also in the international spotlight.

A number of countries continue to closely monitor what is happening and what impact this situation will have. Reporting from the Huffington Post, several countries are preparing sanctions against Russia as a result of their invasion of Ukraine.

Britain is one of the countries that have thought about the sanctions. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has even held a meeting with the British parliament to discuss the sanctions.

Members of the Labor Party have read out the names of those who deserve sanctions related to the Ukraine-Russia conflict. One that sticks out in the list is the owner of Chelsea, Roman Abramovich.

Lawmakers think Abramovich deserves sanctions because he is a close person to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Based on these considerations, the government urged that sanctions be immediately given to the oil tycoon.

However, the urge to impose sanctions on Abramovich must be reconsidered by MPs. Because they must have a strong legal basis. Moreover, the current owner of Chelsea can no longer be considered a Russian citizen.

Since 2018, Abramovich has been an Israeli citizen. Since then, Abramovich has been free to enter and exit the UK-Israel, including other visa-free countries.

After briefly disappearing, Abramovich returned to London, England in 2021. The return of the tycoon even had time to create an uproar among the British government.

The reason is, the Prime Minister (PM) had said that Abramovich did not need to be included in the list of people who received sanctions from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The British PM said that because he thought Abramovich had already faced sanctions, before being included in the list.

This statement then made PM Boris Johnson to clarify. He stated that if Abramovich was not included in the sanctions targets prepared by the UK. However, he also confirmed the existing situation by providing an updated statement.

According to Boris, if Abramovich is now an Israeli citizen, he will need a visa for his activities while in England. Had Abramovich not had it he could have been rejected when he made his application.

"All Israelis need a visa to live, work or study in the UK," Johnson said.

The possibility of Abramovich living and settling in London is also very wide open. Because the tycoon has a large investment in the British capital. In addition to a number of luxury properties, Abramovich certainly will not forget his biggest investment, Chelsea.

Abramovich has trusted people to take care of the Blues, but he did not necessarily give up. Because Abramovich is also known as the owner who often comes to the stadium to watch his club's matches live.

As in the last Club World Cup, Abramovich immediately visited the Chelsea players who won the title.

On the one hand, Abramovich could mess with the British government. However, a similar situation will not be experienced by Chelsea. The reason is, some MPs have urged Chelsea not to be given the right to promote sports with British embellishments in it.