‘We have really far more urgent things to discuss and handle’
Thomas Tuchel has questioned the UK government’s priorities after Chelsea supporters were urged to stop chanting Roman Abramovich’s name following his recent sanctions.
The Blues owner was sanctioned last week after Downing Street claimed to have proven the 55-year-old’s links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Abramovich announced that he had put Chelsea up for sale amid Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine, however, some Blues fans have continued to chant his name at matches.
When asked about Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s call for Chelsea fans to stop chanting, Tuchel replied: “I just heard about it some minutes ago. I don’t know if, in these times, if it is the most important discussion to have in Parliament.
“I don’t know if fan chants being discussed in Parliament means that we have to worry about the priorities of this government.
“But OK. Listen, no need to comment from me. We have really far more urgent things to discuss and handle.
“There are restrictions and we have to deal with it. There are adjustments in the amount of staff, who is travelling, how many rooms we have in hotels and how we arrive at matches.”
🗣 "If fan chants now need to be discussed in parliament, maybe we need to worry about the priorities of discussions there."
Thomas Tuchel questions parliaments priorities after Chelsea fans were urged to stop chanting Roman Abramovichs name pic.twitter.com/SRo0lQQ2d2
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) March 15, 2022
Chelsea are still permitted to operate under a special government licence, despite Abramovich’s other UK assets being frozen.
On Tuesday (March 15), the Blues requested that their FA Cup quarter-final against Middlesbrough on Saturday was to be played behind closed doors for the sake of “sporting integrity.”
Championship side Middlesbrough, who defeated Tottenham Hotspur in the last round of the competition, fired back at Chelsea’s ‘bizarre’ request, insisting that it ‘is not only grossly unfair but without any foundation’.
Related links:
- Middlesbrough slam ‘bizarre’ request from Chelsea to play behind closed doors
- Government condemn ‘threatening’ statement from Chelsea on FA Cup away tickets
- Jamie Carragher apologises for ’emotional’ Chelsea comments
