Jersey sponsor Three on Thursday suspended its partnership with Chelsea following the freezing of the London club’s assets by the UK government.

British authorities Thursday announced sanctions against Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich over his alleged ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin who ordered invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

The telecommunications company in a statement on Thursday announced the withdrawal of their sponsorship for the Blues.

“In light of the government’s recently announced sanctions, we have requested Chelsea Football Club temporarily suspend our sponsorship of the club, including the removal of our brand from shirts and around the stadium until further notice. 

“We recognise that this decision will impact the many Chelsea fans who follow their team passionately. However, we feel that given the circumstances, and the Government sanction that is in place, it is the right thing to do,” the statement reads in part. 

In solidarity with Ukraine, Three said “as a mobile network, the best way we can support the people of Ukraine is to ensure refugees arriving in the UK from the conflict and customers currently in Ukraine can stay connected to the people who matter to them. Therefore, we are offering connectivity packages to all Ukrainians arriving in the UK, and those in Ukraine.”

Before now, FIFA and UEFA had in a joint statement banned Russian teams from its competitions.

International Olympic Committee had also called for Russia to be banned from all sports activities and competitions, while withdrawing its medals from Mr Putin and other political figures in Russia.