‘This is the price he has to pay’ – Roman Abramovich blasts after handing over the ‘stewardship’ of the club
Roman Abramovich released a statement on Saturday afternoon saying that he will be handing over the stewardship of the club to trustees of Chelsea’s charitable Foundation.
Roman Abramovich’s statement read: “During my nearly 20-year ownership of Chelsea FC, I have always viewed my role as a custodian of the Club, whose job it is ensuring that we are as successful as we can be today, as well as build for the future, while also playing a positive role in our communities.
“I have always taken decisions with the Club’s best interest at heart. I remain committed to these values. That is why I am today giving trustees of Chelsea’s charitable Foundation the stewardship and care of Chelsea FC.”
The Chelsea owner has been antagonised for being friends with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who ordered a military invasion of Ukraine.
Daily Mail‘s Oliver Holt has reacted to Abramovich’s statement, and called it a ‘shameful mess’, slamming the Chelsea owner for failing to publicly call out the actions of Putin.
He wrote: “Perhaps it would be more useful to focus on what Abramovich’s statement did not say.
“He did not express any regret that Russia had invaded Ukraine. He did not express any regret that Russian forces were murdering innocent Ukrainian civilians. He did not distance himself from Putin.
“He did not express, in a statement about Chelsea, that his country’s actions have put Tuchel and his players in a ‘terrible’ position ahead of Sunday’s game.
“Because what do Chelsea do now? Presumably taking to the pitch at Wembley draped in Ukrainian flags, as Everton and Manchester City did at Goodison yesterday, would be a little embarrassing, given their owner’s association with the invader. Do they attempt any show of sympathy for Ukraine’s plight? Presumably not. Do they just ignore it?
“What a shameful, shameful mess. This is what English football has become. This is what we have let the Premier League become.
“We have got awfully good at letting butchers and tyrants and kleptocrats and oligarchs use us for their own ends. We have got awfully good at turning the other way when these people use our great football clubs to camouflage what their governments are doing at home.
“It is easier to turn the other way. It is easier to look at the ownership of our clubs and say, ‘Who cares where the money’s coming from?’
“I know. I did it myself some years ago. But this is what happens when you turn the other way.
“This is the price that English football pays: it finds it hard to look at itself in the mirror without recoiling in horror.”