Chelsea fans must stop chanting Abramovich’s name, says UK govt

The spokesman for the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on Monday, said that Chelsea fans must stop the chanting of Russian owner Roman Abramovich’s name during a football match.

Recall that the Blues supporters again expressed their backing for Abramovich during Sunday’s home match against Newcastle United, thereby chanting his name.

The demonstration came after the club owner was sanctioned by the British Government last week over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

gathered that Abramovich’s assets were frozen, with Chelsea placed under a special licence that allows them to operate but unable to generate new revenue.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson’s official spokesman, Janes Slack, insisted that supporters should not let that blind them to Abramovich’s association to the man leading the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Slack said, “We recognise the strength of feeling around people’s clubs, but that does not excuse behaviour which is completely inappropriate at this time”

“I think people can show passion and support for their club without resorting to that sort of stuff.”

The United Kingdom Government has said it is still open to Chelsea being sold but that a new application would be needed to enable a sale.

Slack stated that the club has not applied for a variation to its strict special licence.

“We are open to the sale of the club, we would consider an application for a licence to allow that to happen in the right circumstances.

“But it is for Chelsea to determine the exact process. My understanding is potential buyers would approach the club, who would then need to apply for a further amended licence to facilitate the sale.

“As far as I’m aware that hasn’t happened at this point,” the Spokesman said.

It was gathered that Abramovich first put the club up for sale on March 2 and a number of interested parties are understood to remain in the frame in spite of the imposition of sanctions.

These include British billionaire Nick Candy, a consortium featuring Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, plus interest from former Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton.

The UK Government, however, said it will oversee the sale process in order to ensure there is no benefit to Abramovich, with New York merchant bank the Raine Group handling the sale.

The billionaire has brought unprecedented success to Chelsea since he bought the club in 2003. The club had won more than 31 trophies.