Chelsea Shirt Sponsor Three Tell Club They Want Logo Removed In Strong Statement

Chelsea's shirt sponsor Three are calling for Chelsea to remove their logo from the club's kits after suspending the partnership.

Chelsea have been placed under sanctions from both the EU and the UK after owner Roman Abramovich's assets were seized in relation to his alleged links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

These sanctions have been forced following Putin engineering a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

As a result, Chelsea are now operating under special measures which mean they cannot sell tickets or merchandise, buy and sell players or renew contracts.

Their bank account has also been frozen by Barclays, while Abramovich has been suspended as a director while he looks to sell the West London outfit.

Image: PA

Three, who agreed a £40 million-per-year deal with Chelsea in 2020 after the Blues' partnership with Yokohama Tyres ended, have requested that their logo be taken off all shirts and training attire, as well as branding around Stamford Bridge.

However the request has not yet been met as the European Champions are still playing with Three's logo front and centre.

In a new statement, the British mobile phone network say they club have had difficult ordering logo-less shirts and are calling for a swift solution.

Image: PA

Three said: "We understand from discussions with Chelsea FC that there are ongoing issues with removing the Three logo from the shirts, as a result of kit supply issues and licence restrictions.

“We have requested that Chelsea reverts with a solution to this issue as soon as possible.”

Hyundai, the Japanese car manufacturer, have also suspended their agreement with Chelsea but their logo remains on the sleeve of Chelsea's shirts.

According to The Athletic, Three are no longer linked to Chelsea on any digital platforms but restrictions have made it difficult when it comes to physical assets.

In Germany, second-tier side Schalke decided to place stickers over their sponsorship with Russian gas giant Gazprom and that is a route Chelsea could explore should they be able to print new shirts.