Chelsea crisis deepens as bank accounts temporarily suspended

Chelsea's club credit cards have been temporarily suspended by Barclays in the wake of Roman Abramovich being sanctioned by the UK government.

People who work at Chelsea that have corporate credit cards are unable to use them at the moment.

It was reported earlier this evening that the club's Barclays bank account had been frozen, but Chelsea now say that bank account is still operational this evening.

The Press Association have reported that Chelsea have had multiple accounts temporarily suspended while banks assess their operating licence.

The UK government on Thursday gave Chelsea a licence to continue with football-related activities after Abramovich had "his assets frozen, a prohibition on transactions with UK individuals and businesses, a travel ban and transport sanctions" imposed on him.

The sanctions are intended to stop the 55-year-old from making any money in the UK, but the government has granted Chelsea a special licence to allow fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket holders to attend matches.

However, Chelsea cannot offer new contracts to players or staff, conduct any transfer business or sell new tickets to matches as things stand.

Chelsea are scheduled to play Newcastle United, live on Sky Sports, on Sunday.