Chelsea have been asked to prove that Roman Abramovich’s plan to hand stewardship of the club to the trustees of the Chelsea Foundation would not represent a breach of its charitable status.
The Charity Commission contacted the club and the foundation on Monday to ask for more details of the Russian’s proposal — which, as Sportsmail reported on Sunday, the trustees have yet to accept.
Chelsea will be expected to spell out how the club and the foundation can remain separate entities if they are run by the same people, although a number of the trustees may opt to walk away due to their own misgivings.