Cries for Roman Abramovich from Chelsea supporters during the demonstrations of solidarity for Ukraine have angered manager Thomas Tuchel. “This is not the right moment for it,” said Tuchel. “If we show solidarity then we should all do it together,” added the London Premier League coach after Saturday’s incident.
All Premier League stadiums commemorated the weekend before Ukraine kicked off and applauded for a minute. However, before Chelsea’s match in Burnley (4-0), fans who had traveled with them disrupted the game by loudly shouting the name of the Russian Chelsea owner several times in the Turf Moor stadium. Burnley fans responded with boos.
“It’s not the moment for other messages,” said Tuchel: “It’s the moment to show respect. We want to do that. And as a club, it’s important that our fans join in the applause at this minute. We do it for Ukraine and there are no two opinions about the situation there. Our thoughts are with them, they have our solidarity and we should stand together.”
The Russian billionaire Abramovich recently announced that he wanted to sell Chelsea FC after almost 20 years. His move is seen as a reaction to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and therefore the threat of sanctions for Russian oligarchs in Great Britain. Under Abramovich, Chelsea experienced the most successful period in the club’s history and won a large number of trophies.