Tribunnews Reporter, Mikael Dafit Adi Prasetyo
TRIBUNNEWS.COM, LONDON – Cell phone company Three has suspended its sponsorship of Chelsea and asked the club to immediately remove their logo from shirts.
The news comes after Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the British government in relation to someone who was or has been involved in disrupting and undermining and threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of the Ukrainian state.
Quoting from The Guardian website, Saturday (12/3/2022) Three said in a statement “In light of the sanctions announced by the government recently, we have asked Chelsea Football Club to temporarily suspend our sponsorship of the club, including the removal of our brand from jerseys. and around the stadium until further notice.”
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Clubs have been granted a special license which will allow them to fulfill their fixtures.
Broadcast and prize money will be frozen and licenses limited to football-related activities leading to a ban on signing players and new contracts and other commercial restrictions.
This means that Roman Abramovich as Chelsea owner needs approval from the British government before selling the club based at Stamford Bridge.
Three added: “We recognize that this decision will have an impact on the many Chelsea fans who follow their team with passion. However, we feel that given the situation, and the applicable government sanctions, it was the right thing to do.”
Chelsea is known to have collaborated with mobile phone company Three with a contract value of around 40 million Euros a year.
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While Hyundai, which is also a sponsor of the club with a contract value of 10 million Euros a year, is currently looking for an agreement whether to continue working with Chelsea or not.
Nike, which agreed a 15-year contract worth £900m to provide Chelsea kit in 2016, said it had no comment on Abramovich’s news that day, meaning the company may walk away from the deal.
