Gary
Neville said "no one has bought" Roman Abramovich's statement on his Chelsea
ownership and that he is using the club's charitable foundation as to
"shield" himself.
Amid mounting pressure following a call from a prominent MP for Abramovich
to be stripped of his assets earlier this week in response to Russia's
invasion of Ukraine, the Chelsea owner released a statement through the club
website on Saturday stating he would be handing over the "stewardship and
care" to its charitable foundation arm - although it has since turned out
the trustees have yet to agree to this move.
There was no mention of what that would mean in practice, whether Abramovich
would look to sell up, or any reference to the situation in Ukraine itself,
but later on Saturday news began to break that there would be little
difference in terms of the day-to-day running of the club, and that
Abramovich intended to remain as owner.
Speaking ahead of Chelsea's Carabao Cup final clash with Liverpool, Neville
told Sky Sports that not only did the statement raise more questions than it
answered, but also that the contents of it had "no credibility or substance
whatsoever."
Sky Sports News' chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol explains what Roman
Abramovich's decision to hand 'stewardship and care' of Chelsea to the
club's charitable foundation means for the club.
He said: "When we saw that statement my first feeling was, it wasn't
suspicion but it was 'what is this?' Then when you start to read the
language you realise it was a meaningless statement, it doesn't have any
strength behind it and the only question we want Roman Abramovich to answer,
if he is going to speak, is 'does he condemn the war or does he support the
war on Ukraine?'
"From my point of view, looking at it, saying that the trustees of the
Chelsea charity are going to be in charge of Chelsea Football Club is
ridiculous. Piara Powar, who set up Kick It Out, John Devine, Emma Hayes,
Bruce Buck - they're never going to run Chelsea Football Club, they're not
looking after Chelsea Football Club.
"Chelsea are a limited company, owned by Roman Abramovich, that have
directors. There's no way you can hand over control to a group of charity
trustees, who to be fair should be at arm's length anyway - charities should
be at arm's length from a football club.
"So I don't know why he thought, or those close to him thought it was going
to wash. I was surprised at Roman Abramovich, one of the things he's done
well over that 20 years or so is not say anything. At the time when he has
said something I think it's left more questions than answers."
Chelsea released another, shorter statement on Sunday morning making
reference, for the first time, to the war in Ukraine but stopped short of
condemning the Russian invasion, with the 23-word post stating the club's
"thoughts were with everyone" in the country.
Neville questioned whether the additional correspondence had been devised
because of the backlash to the original statement, which he said had used
the Chelsea Foundation as a "shield" for Abramovich's personal situation.
He said: "It is PR, it was bad PR. I don't know if the statement this
morning was planned or if it was off the back of people seeing through the
statement last night which was first released which said Roman Abramovich
was handing over to the Charity trustees - which no one has bought.
"I think everyone worked out that didn't have any credibility or substance
whatsoever. I would have preferred Roman Abramovich to come out and say I'm
a Russian national, I own Chelsea Football Club and I will continue to own
Chelsea Football Club. Chelsea charity trustees are not running the football
club, executives and directors will under the guidance of Roman Abramovich.
"What he has done is try to use the charity as a shield, which I don't think
is impressive as a leader. Those people on that trustee board didn't sign up
to be used by Roman Abramovich in a crisis, they signed up to work on a
charity board to assist in their foundation, not to be used as a shield
telling everyone they're running the football club because they're clearly
not."
What has Abramovich said?
In a rare statement from Abramovich on Saturday evening, the Chelsea owner
said: "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.
"I believe that currently they are in the best position to look after the
interests of the club, players, staff, and fans."
Cech: Everyone's thoughts with Ukraine
Speaking ahead of the Carabao Cup final, Chelsea's technical advisor Petr
Cech, the most-capped player in the history of the Czech Republic - who have
said they will refuse to play Russia if drawn against them in the upcoming
World Cup play-offs - spoke out to say the thoughts of everyone at the club
were with the stricken nation.
He said: "We cannot deny there is a conflict and war in Europe, which I
think every human being will have their thoughts with those affected and it
is the same at our club.
"We obviously hope the situation will be resolved as soon as possible. We
try to prepare for the game as normal as possible, the players the same way
but it is a distraction - not only for the players but for people around the
world."
Carragher: Abramovich statement 'poor and
embarrassing'
Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher criticised both statements from Chelsea and
Abramovich regarding the owner's handing over the stewardship of the club,
saying they have "let themselves down badly".
Carragher has slammed Chelsea's handling of the situation, saying "they've
embarrassed themselves."
"I don't think they've handled it really well. With the couple of statements
they've put out. I think it's been really poor and they've let themselves
down badly.
"The club came out today and put a statement out, but I think it was almost
trying to rectify what Roman Abramovich had put out the night before. I
don't think they did that well either. It's not worked out well for them at
all, I think they've embarrassed themselves."
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