Chelsea Supporters' Trust Urges Fans Not To Sing Roman Abramovich's Name During Ukraine Tribute

The Chelsea Supporters' Trust has urged fans not to repeat what happened during Saturday's tribute to the people of Ukraine.

A minute's applause was held at Turf Moor ahead of Burnley vs Chelsea to show solidarity with Ukrainians, after their nation was invaded by Russia last month.

But a group of Chelsea fans disrupted the tribute by singing the name of their Russian owner Roman Abramovich.

This disruption was met with angry boos from fans around the stadium.

Manager Thomas Tuchel condemned the timing of the chants after the game.

"It's not the moment to do this," said Tuchel, as reported by Eurosport. "Listen, if we show solidarity, we show solidarity and we should do it together.

"We take the knee together and if an important person from our club or another club unfortunately dies, we show a minute of respect. It's not the moment to give other messages. It's the moment to show respect.

"We do this because this is what we are as a club. We show respect as a club and we need our fans to commit to this minute of applause. At this moment, we do it for Ukraine and there is no second opinion about the situation there. They have our thoughts and our support.

“We should stand together as a club. It's not the moment for other messages."

Ahead of Thursday's away game at Norwich, where a similar minute's applause is set to take place, a Chelsea Supporters' Trust spokesperson told The Sun: "The CST has been steadfast in support of the people of Ukraine.

"Singing Mr Abramovich's name at that time was clearly inappropriate. There is a time and a place for it.

"From minute one to 90 during the match is fine but not during the one minute marked as a tribute to the people of Ukraine.

"With Norwich, we hope supporters take on board the comments of the manager and respect the minute's applause or silence."

Roman Abramovich pictured in 2021 celebrating Chelsea's Champions League final win over Man City

IMAGO/Adam Davy

Those Chelsea fans at Burnley were showing their appreciation for Abramovich three days after he had outlined his intention to sell the club in an official statement.

Since buying the club in 2003, Abramovich has lent Chelsea around £1.5 billion but he said in his statement that he "will not be asking for any loans to be repaid".

He also vowed to pass on "all net proceeds" from the sale to a new charitable foundation to help "all victims of the war in Ukraine".

This was the first time that Abramovich had publicly addressed the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Abramovich has come under scrutiny from UK politicians for his alleged links to Russian president Vladimir Putin - allegations the Chelsea owner denies.

Despite his alleged links to Putin's regime, many Chelsea fans hold Abramovich in very high regard because of the on-field success achieved under his ownership.

The Blues have won 21 team trophies since the Russian arrived. That haul includes five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, two Champions Leagues, two Europa Leagues and one FIFA Club World Cup.

Chelsea had only won 15 trophies prior to the Abramovich era, including the Second Division title twice and the Full Members' Cup twice.