Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and board pens open letter to fans over ESL chaos
Writing in an open letter to the Chelsea fans (h/t Daily Mail), Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and the board have admitted that they deeply regret the involvement in the ill-fated European Super League (ESL).
The ESL was a breakaway league concocted by some of the so-called big clubs in Europe. A total of 12 clubs, including Chelsea, had signed up for what would be a money-driven, stakes-less competition. This sparked a huge backlash from fans, pundits, ex-players as well as current players and managers too.
Within less than 48 hours of the announcement, the ESL came to a crashing halt as the six Premier League clubs involved withdrew, starting with Chelsea. This came about after fans took to Stamford Bridge and put up a huge protest ahead of our game against Brighton & Hove Albion, causing the club to backtrack.
Soon, Manchester City followed suit, before the rest of the clubs also withdrew. In the aftermath of this, some of the Spanish and the Italian clubs that were involved also stepped back. Now, trying to address the fans concerns, Abramovich and the Chelsea board have admitted that it was a mistake, one that they deeply regret.
“The owner and board understand that involving the club in such a proposal was a decision we should not have taken,’ the statement read. It is a decision we deeply regret.”
The statement further went on to add on how such an action would have undone the years of community work that Chelsea had done, while also acknowledging that the entire episode was a mistake.
“Mistakes are unavoidable, but it’s the ability to address those mistakes and jointly move forward which makes us strong as a club and community.”
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The letter signed off with the club saying that it wanted to rebuild the trust with the fans while also promising better channels of communications with supporters.