Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has urged the government to think of the ‘completely innocent’ Chelsea fans and avoid a ‘fire sale’ of the football club after owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned.

The Russian owner has been hit with sanctions due to his links with Vladimir Putin, with Abramovich’s assets frozen, including the Premier League side.

Chelsea will keep playing games, as they are on Thursday night at Norwich, but the club will not be able to sign players or offer existing players new contracts, while they will also not be able to sell tickets outside of those already sold.

Khan is keen for the ‘completely innocent’ Chelsea fans not to be punished too harshly and the club should not be moved on in a ‘fire sale’.

“I think Chelsea are a great Premier League club, they’re the champions of Europe, the world club champions,’ Khan told the PA news agency.

“They were a great club before the current owner and they’ll be a great club after the current owner.

“It’s important to distinguish Chelsea and what’s happening in Ukraine because the reality is for too long Russian oligarchs close to Putin had been using homes in London, businesses in London, to launder money.

“I think it’s right that the Government is now taking sanctions and seizing assets of those Russian oligarchs close to Putin.

“What’s also important though is we don’t allow a situation where any asset which may be owned by a Russian oligarch close to Putin is sold off in a fire sale,

“What’s important is for these assets to be seized, I want some of these empty homes to be used to house some of these Ukrainians fleeing the war zone.

Some of these assets I want sold off to be used to support those Ukrainians, both who are still in Ukraine and those who have left Ukraine.”

Reports in England claim that there has been some good news for Chelsea fans as Nike are reportedly set to stand-by their kit deal with the club.

It comes after shirt sponsors Three announced they are suspending their deal with the Blues on Thursday.

But according to The Athletic, kit manufactures Nike have told the west Londoners they will stick by them despite suggestions they were considering the partnership.

The two parties agreed a 15-year, £900million deal back in 2016 as Adidas were replaced.

With nine years remaining, it meant Chelsea would have lost £540m if Nike, who make match kits, training gear and replica kits, walked away.

Technology minister Chris Philp has called for Chelsea fans to stop pro-Roman Abramovich chants after the sanctions imposed on the Russian oligarch.

Abramovich’s assets were frozen by the UK Government on Thursday morning for his links with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Chelsea have been allowed to operate via a special license, but there are many strict restrictions in place such as their inability to sell tickets and merchandise.

Abramovich, who has invested heavily in the west London club since his takeover in 2003, was the subject of supportive chants from Blues supporters during the team’s 3-1 win over Norwich City at Carrow Road on Thursday night.

But speaking on BBC Radio Four’s Today Programme, MP for Croydon South, Philp, urged Chelsea fans to consider that there are matters more important than football amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

“I’m a football fan myself, I’m a Palace fan, in south London. So I understand why fans are very attached to their football clubs,” Philp said.

“But Roman Abramovich is someone who has been sanctioned now for his very close links to Vladimir Putin and the Putin regime.

“And I just say respectfully to the Chelsea fans, I know he’s done a lot for the club, but the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and what the Russian regime are doing to civilians – shelling maternity hospitals and shooting civilians who are fleeing down humanitarian corridors – and that is more important than football.

“And I say that as a football fan myself, and I would just ask them to keep that in mind.”

Abramovich had put Chelsea up for sale last week, with potential suitors registering their interest.

Despite the sanctions, the Government will allow the sale of the club as long as it doesn’t financially benefit the Russian billionaire.

British billionaire Nick Candy has confirmed he is still pursuing a bid for Chelsea, with the sanctioning of owner Roman Abramovich expected to quicken the sale process once the confusion created by the extraordinary events has been clarified.

The 49-year-old property developer is a Chelsea fan, who is planning to attend Sunday’s Premier League home match against Newcastle and has pledged to put supporters at the centre of his plans for the club that will be jointly-funded with American investors.

A spokesperson for Candy told Sportsmail: “We are examining the details of the announcement and we are still interested in making a bid.”

“Clearly this is a time of great uncertainty for all Chelsea fans. In our view no one is the owner of a football club – you are the custodian of it for the fans and the community.”

Candy is in talks with several potential investors over a joint venture, with the fact that the sale now has to be officially approved by the government doing little to dampen interest.

The Daily Mail reports that Abramovich rejected an offer of just under £2billion from one American group earlier this week, and given the level of interest, the eventual sale price is likely to exceed that amount, although none of the money would go to the Russian or any of his charitable projects.

Candy is convinced that Chelsea can be run profitably despite the club posting losses of £145m last year, through growing the club’s brand globally and embracing innovative new markets, as well as extracting more revenue from a multi-purpose redeveloped Stamford Bridge.

This belief appears to be shared by other buyers, with a £2bn-plus bid from Todd Boehly and Hansjorg Wyss still on the table, and serious interest from Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts and the owner of the New York Jets, Woody Johnson.

The terms of the emergency licence the government granted do not permit the club to be sold, but a government spokesman confirmed they will consider an application for a new licence to allow for a sale.

American merchant bank The Raine Group are still handling the sale, although wrote to several interested parties on Thursday saying “the process has been paused as the parties consider the implications of the developments and discuss the next steps with UK authorities.”

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel insists he is happy to stay at the club despite the latest chaos in and around the Blues.

Tuchel and his players had to put all of the chaos to one side to face Norwich in the Premier League just hours after the Abramovich news broke.

Trevoh Chalobah got them off to a flyer at Carrow Road – heading in an early corner – before Mount gave his side a 2-0 lead after just 14 minutes.

And in what seemed to be a defiant message, the England international grabbed the club’s crest on his shirt and kissed it as he ran off celebrating. That came after fans showed their support for Abramovich by chanting his name ahead of their game against Norwich.

But after Mount inspired Premier League victory at bottom side Norwich, manager Thomas Tuchel insisted his squad won’t be distracted.

He said: “I don’t know what is coming tomorrow.

“Everybody can be very sure that we focus on us, to keep the attitude and the mentality right on the training ground and within the team.

“As long as we have enough shirts and a bus to drive to the games we will be there and will compete hard.”

Abramovich’s hopes of selling Chelsea quickly look uncertain after his assets – including the club itself – were frozen.

And it’s even been suggested the Blues need to find a buyer within 81 days or risk folding.

Chelsea’s financial streams have been dammed up and at the very least they face a summer of cutbacks plus no new signings.

Only a special licence form the Government allows them to keep playing, pay staff and let CURRENT ticket-holders attend games.