Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp sympathises with Chelsea supporters, but agrees with the United Kingdom government's decision to sanction Roman Abramovich.
Long-time Chelsea owner Abramovich was one of seven Russian oligarchs to have his assets frozen on Thursday due to the country's invasion of Ukraine.
Abramovich, whose net worth is reported to be in the region of £9.4billion, has previously been photographed with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Chelsea have been granted a special sporting licence to continue trading – and indeed playing – as a football club, but other hard-hitting sanctions have been put in place.
They include a ban on selling tickets, with only season-ticket holders permitted to attend matches, while the Blues cannot buy or sell players, or offer new contracts.
That leaves Chelsea facing an uncertain future, but Klopp insists the decision taken by authorities is the correct one given the ongoing events in Ukraine.
"Thomas [Tuchel] and I know each other well, but we are not that close to talk about what's been said," Klopp said at a pre-match news conference on Friday.
"We talk about games, yes, but not other moments. Of course, for him, the players and the employers at Chelsea, it's not a situation they are responsible for.
"One man is responsible for that and it's Vladimir Putin. I don't know about Roman Abramovich's role and all these kind of things.
"But over the years you could guess he's pretty close. I think what the British government did is right, to be 100 per cent honest.
"It's still not cool for the people of Chelsea or the supporters, I get that. But I think the things the government did are right."
Among other major knock-on effects for Chelsea, shirt sponsor Three has asked the club to remove its logos from team shirts and from the club's Stamford Bridge stadium.
It was business as usual for the west London side on Thursday as they saw off bottom club Norwich City 3-1 to consolidate third place in the Premier League.
Speaking after the match, Mason Mount admitted he and his team-mates cannot simply ignore off-the-field events.
"You can't really avoid it, as there's a lot going on," Mount told BBC Sport. "We have to focus on what we do on the pitch.
"We had a game today and that was the only thing we could focus on. We did that today, so now it's about Sunday. You try not to look too much into it."
Chelsea host Newcastle United on Sunday in their first game at Stamford Bridge since these developments.
Tonali set for August return after receiving suspended two-month ban from FA
Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban by the Football Association (FA) after admitting to breaching gambling rules.
The sanction means the Newcastle United midfielder will be eligible to return to action on August 27, 2024, when his 10-month suspension issued by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) expires.
FIFA ratified that ban, causing it to become applicable worldwide, after Tonali admitted to placing bets on matches as part of an investigation into unregulated betting platforms in Italy.
In March, the FA charged Tonali with breaching English football's gambling rules 50 times between August and October last year, leading to fears his spell out of the game could be extended.
However, on Thursday it was confirmed that the FA had suspended Tonali's punishment for the duration of the 2024-25 season, meaning he can return in August if he does not reoffend.
In a statement, Newcastle said: "Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban from competitive football by an independent regulatory commission after self-declaring breaches of FA betting rules.
"He has also been fined £20,000 and warned by the FA as to his future conduct.
"Provided that he does not commit any further breach of the FA betting rules during the suspension period, Sandro will not serve any part of the two-month sanction.
"As acknowledged by the FA in the independent regulatory commission's written reasons, the level of assistance Sandro has provided by self-referring and fully cooperating with a subsequent investigation is extraordinary and unprecedented.
"Sandro is continuing to follow a therapeutic plan and educational programme with the club's full support and will continue to train with his team-mates."
Tonali's initial ban has limited him to just eight Premier League appearances since he joined Newcastle from Milan in a £55million deal, while he will also miss Italy's Euro 2024 campaign.
Will Still leaves Reims job with immediate effect
Will Still has left his role as Reims head coach with immediate effect, the Ligue 1 club announced on Thursday.
Still took over as Reims boss – initially on an interim basis – after Oscar Garcia was sacked in October 2022 and went unbeaten through his first 19 league games at the helm.
The 31-year-old was eventually handed the role on a permanent basis and led Reims to an 11th-placed finish in Ligue 1 in 2022-23, with his lack of a UEFA Pro Licence causing the club to be fined €25,000 per match until he began the course.
Reims are currently 11th in Ligue 1 again, though they are winless in their last five games and have lost each of their last three.
In a statement, the club said: "Following a meeting this morning between president Jean-Pierre Caillot, general manager Mathieu Lacour and head coach Will Still, it was mutually agreed that the two parties would not continue the sporting adventure together next season.
"In order to allow Reims to confidently look forward to the next year, it was also decided that Will Still and his deputy Nicolas Still would step down from their respective functions as of today."
Still was linked with the Sunderland job earlier this season and said in February that he would be open to joining an "ambitious" Championship club.
Al Ittihad 1-2 Al Hilal: Holders into King's Cup final
Al Hilal overcame Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's red card as Saud Abdulhamid's late goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad in the King's Cup semi-finals.
Without Karim Benzema, Al Ittihad ultimately lacked the firepower to make their numerical advantage count in Tuesday's clash.
Former Lazio midfielder, who joined Al Hilal as part of their spending spree last year, received a straight red card in the 42nd minute.
Al Ittihad's Abderrazzaq Hamed-Allah cancelled out Micheal's opener, but Abdulhamid popped up with the winner in the 81st minute.
Al Hilal are 10-time King's Cup winners, having won their 10th title last season.
The Saudi Pro League leaders, who are still without the injured Neymar, will now face either Al Khaleej or Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final at the end of May.
Data Debrief: Malcom in the middle
Al Hilal might be missing their star Brazilian Neymar, but his compatriot Malcom is delivering when it comes to playmaking.
The former Zenit attacker set up both of Al Hilal's goals, creating three chances in total and registering a pass accuracy of 92.6 per cent, better than any of his team-mates.
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