Chelsea news LIVE: Club withdraw Middlesbrough request after backlash and Roman Abramovich sanctioned by EU

Huddleston continues after being asked about the fan-led review: “Football can sort out a lot of the issues it faces today without the need for legislation. There is no intent to kick this into the long grass. We need to set a regulator and we would like to see that as soon as possible.”

Nigel Huddleston MP, Minister for Sport, is asked whether Roman Abramovich has been “good or bad” for English football, following his sanctioning by the UK Government, at a parliamentary select committee.

He replies: “We welcome investment into sport in the UK but it has to be legal and it has to be subject to tests, and that has been the case. We recognise that there is room for improvements but it is important that we continue to have a robust football system in the UK. The point about the fitness for owners is a valid one. I’m not going to be drawn on individuals today. The fact is Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned. He clearly is not fit to run a football club now.”

Tuchel concludes his press conference by answering a couple of questions in French.

Some interesting lines there from the Chelsea manager, who said the Blues remain in the “same situation” following the sanctions placed on Roman Abramovich. Tuchel added Chelsea are having more discussions around travel arrangements for the upcoming trips to Lille and Middlesbrough than they usually would, but that he would not make “excuses” around the adjustments they are making. He also appeared to question why Boris Johnson’s spokesperson was telling Chelsea fans to stop signing Roman Abramovich’s name.

On the Government asking Chelsea fans to stop signing about Abramovich: “I heard about it. I’m not sure it’s the most important thing to discuss in parliament. No need to comment from me. We have more urgent things to discuss. Maybe we need to worry about the priority of discussions there.

“There are adjustments on our travel. The number of rooms we have, and so on. This is not about luxury. It’s about a professional of level for sports in between matches. We try to be as professional as possible in the frame that we can do it. There will be no excuses. It’s already harder to make arrangements for the FA Cup. But as long as we have our shirts, as long as we are alive, we will fight for our success.”

“Before we talk about a new owner, the new owner needs to be approved. There’s a process of how someone becomes an owner in this league.

“Did I have a choice to also take his role [as club ambassador], no. In England in sports not a lot of people talk about the club. From the outside it’s just me. Was it always comfortable? No. But I try to be honest. I’m more than happy if things calmed down and we can talk about football again.”

“Marcos Alonso is ready to start, Cesar Azpilicueta is ready to start. We will try to have Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi in training but it is a late race.

“We have to deal with it [uncertainty around travel]. We have new things to talk about like how we arrive at games. We have to stick together and find solutions. I’m not usually asked before about how we arrive at the match. We want to play the match tomorrow and make the next round, and make the match at Middlesbrough at Chelsea.”

Thomas Tuchel: “No, there’s no more uncertainty [than in previous days]. It’s the same situation.

“It’s a good mood [in the squad]. We couldn’t have had two more different games than we had [against Norwich and Newcastle]. Newcastle was a question of mentality and resilience. It makes me very happy that we won this match.”

Jamie Carragher has accused Chelsea fans of being “hypocrites” over their complaints about sanctions against Roman Abramovich negatively impacting the club.

The Chelsea owner had his assets frozen last Thursday after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the government of the United Kingdom describing Abramovich as having “clear connections” to Vladimir Putin.

The billionaire had announced his intention to sell the club he bought in 2003, and was disqualified as a director by the Premier League on Saturday after the sanctions were announced.

It leaves Chelsea unable to conduct usual club business, including a ban on any player transfers and the sale of further tickets or merchandise to fans.

Carragher, speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, said that he does not want Chelsea to “go to the wall”, and suggested there are aspects of their plight that he feels bad about.

However the former Liverpool and England centre-half believes that the club have “taken advantage of every other club” since the arrival of the mega-rich Abramovich in 2003, with his resources enabling Chelsea to operate in such a manner. Carragher wrote in his column for The Telegraph that Manchester United should target Tuchel amid the uncertainty at Stamford Bridge.

“There were more than a few moments of tension at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, but very few were related to where the ball was going.

“Perhaps the most nervousness came between Chelsea fans themselves, as there was an unmistakable trepidation about whether some would sing about Roman Abramovich. Beyond a few smatterings that were quickly shouted down, there was mercifully none of that. It was to the credit of the majority of home supporters.

“It also meant that the most tension was in the dressing room, and it was only tangentially connected to Chelsea.

“Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe was asked about the unavoidable political context of the game given the club’s ownership, how a Saudi Arabian flag was seen in the away end, and the fact the same country executed 81 people on Saturday.

“’I’m just going to answer questions on the game and football,’ Howe said. ‘I’m still bitterly disappointed from the defeat so I think it’s only right that I stick to football’.”

As Miguel Delaney writes, Howe’s response showed that in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the game is now having to confront uncomfortable questions it thought it could indefinitely put off. [Premium]

Ahead of this week’s Champions League action, Thomas Tuchel also said he would be prepared to drive a “seven seater” to Lille amid the uncertainty surrounding Chelsea and the license placed on the club.

Tuchel and technical director Petr Cech both admitted that Chelsea are operating on a day-to-day basis and travel costs are under a heavy cap.

“My last information is that we have a plane, that we can go by plane and come back by plane,” Tuchel said. “If not we go by train, if not we go by bus – if not, I drive a seven-seater! And I will do. Mark my words I will do; I will arrive there.

“If you’d asked me 20 or 30 years ago if I would join a Champions League match at the sideline and what I was willing to do I would have said, ‘OK, when do I have to be where?’

“And why should this change? I will be there, we will be there.”

Tuchel will be speaking at 11:15am this morning ahead of Wednesday’s match.