Chelsea given permission to sell tickets to certain games
By Tom Gott
The British government have updated the terms of Chelsea's license to allow them to sell tickets to certain matches.
Blues owner Roman Abramovich saw his assets frozen by the government and, as part of the sanctions, Chelsea were banned from selling any tickets to anybody other than current season ticket holders.
As a result, Chelsea could only take around 500 fans to their FA Cup quarter-final victory over Middlesbrough - after the club tried to get the game played in an empty stadium out of 'sporting integrity'.
Now, however, the Associated Press have revealed that the terms of Chelsea's license have been altered to permit certain ticket sales, as long as the club don't actually see any of the money.
The update primarily focuses on Champions League games, with Chelsea now permitted to sell tickets for their upcoming quarter-final against Real Madrid and any other fixtures if they make it through.
Similarly, the Blues can sell tickets for the FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace at Wembley, with all proceeds to go to the FA instead.
As far as the Premier League goes, Chelsea are still banned from selling tickets to their own fans for home games - outside of existing season ticket holders - but away fans can now buy tickets.
Chelsea remain in talks with the government over further changes to the license, which is expected to be in place until the club is sold to a new owner.
The Raine Group are still considering proposals, with Catalina Kim, a member of Nick Candy's Blue Football Consortium, revealing that they had expected to find out the final shortlist of bids by now.