Chelsea forced to change team news tweet for Newcastle clash after Three and Hyundai suspend £170m sponsorship deals

CHELSEA have been forced to scrap their usual style team news announcement on social media after Roman Abramovich was hit with sanctions.

The Blues owner has been banned from selling the West London club amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Since the news broke earlier this week, Chelsea have seen major sponsors Three and Hyundai scrap their deals worth a staggering £170million.

And that has seemingly affected the club’s team news announcements on social media.

For Chelsea most-recent game – the 3-1 win over Norwich – the Londoners put out a tweet showing the starting XI and bench with a picture of Timo Werner in full kit.

But for Sunday’s game against Newcastle, there was NO PLAYER on the post on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

It’s believed Chelsea are unable to add a player for the match due to Three and Hyundai being splashed across the kit.

The club are also likely to wear a plain blue strip for the 2pm kick-off at Stamford Bridge with Three and Hyundai pulling the plug on their sponsorship deals.

Kit sponsor Nike are yet to cancel their contract, with Zapp the only other company to suspend their deal with the Premier League giants.

Abramovich was slapped with sanctions due to the oligarch’s relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin – who began an  a fortnight ago.

CHELTENHAM BETTING SPECIAL –

The sanctions ban Abramovich from selling the club – after putting the Blues on the market last week – or making any money from player sales.

Chelsea also cannot flog any club merchandise – with food and drink their remaining source of income.