Why Chelsea Jerseys Had Three & Hyundai Logos On Them Vs Newcastle... Though Some Fans Covered Up
It came as a surprise to some when Chelsea took to the pitch for Sunday's game with Newcastle wearing the same home jersey they had worn all season.
That jersey features the names and logos of 'Three' and 'Hyundai', despite the companies making moves to suspend their partnerships with the club.
Shirt sponsors Three suspended their £40m deal with Chelsea last week.
Three had asked for their logo to be removed from the kit and from other promotional material around Stamford Bridge on Thursday.
This request came after the UK government imposed sanctions on Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich due to his alleged links to Russian president Vladimir Putin, who ordered his army to invade Ukraine last month.
Chelsea still wore their normal kit in a 3-1 win at Norwich later that day, as it was understood that Three's request had been made too late to act upon at such short notice.
But it was expected that Chelsea would wear alternative kit, or at least cover up the Three logo on their jerseys, when they played Newcastle three days later.
Manager Thomas Tuchel was even quizzed about the possibility of replacing the logo with a peace symbol in the short term.
Tuchel liked the idea and said: "We can always wear a message for peace. It can never be the wrong message."
Yet the Three logo was still present on the jerseys on Sunday, when Chelsea beat Newcastle 1-0.
So was the Hyundai badge on the jerseys' sleeves, despite the car giant announcing on Saturday that it was suspending its "marketing and communication activities with the club until further notice."
Why Chelsea Jerseys Still Had Three & Hyundai Logos On Them
The reason is apparently rather simple.
After club owner Abramovich was sanctioned, the UK government allowed Chelsea to continue playing but only under a special license.
That license came with restrictions over how much the club can earn, but also how much it can spend and on what.
According to football.london, Chelsea do not have enough sponsor-less shirts in stock and have not be able to source new kits due to the recently-imposed spending restrictions.
But two young Blues fans at Stamford Bridge showed the club that there may be a low-cost solution to this issue.
They duo were pictured arriving at Sunday's game with white and black tape covering the Three logo on their shirts.