Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has given stewardship of his Premier League side Chelsea to the London football club's charitable foundation, in the wake of political pressure stemming from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Abramovich, who bought the London club in 2003, said in a statement that the foundation was in the "best position to look after the interests" of the club.
"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," he said.
"I have always taken decisions with the club's best interest at heart. I remain committed to these values."
Abramovich remains the club owner and the statement did not reveal why he was giving the foundation stewardship, nor any detail on how the arrangement would work.
Several Russian individuals and entities have been put under sanctions by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson after Moscow launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine this week.
Abramovich has not faced any sanctions but some British opposition parliamentarians said on Thursday that he should be included.
Labour MP Chris Bryant said the UK should seize his assets and bar him from owning the football club, saying he had seen a 2019 Home Office document that referred to Abramovich in relation to Tier 1 visas, which allow wealthy people to invest in the country.
"'As part of HMG's [Her Majesty's government] Russia strategy aimed at targeting illicit finance and malign activity," Mr Bryant quoted the document as saying.
Abramovich, whose wealth stems in part from mining in Russia, did not refer to the situation in Ukraine or to the issue of sanctions in his statement.
The chairman of the Chelsea foundation trustees is American lawyer Bruce Buck, who is also chairman of the club as a whole.
The foundation trustees include women's team manager Emma Hayes and the club's director of finance Paul Ramos.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said on Friday that uncertainty over Abramovich's future was weighing on the club ahead of the League Cup final against Liverpool on Monday morning (AEDT).
Chelsea found unprecedented success after Abramovich took over, winning five Premier League titles, five FA Cups and the Champions League twice.
The Russian invested money into Chelsea that allowed it to sign key players and break the dominance of Manchester United and Arsenal in the mid-2000s.
A study published by Switzerland-based independent research group CIES Football Observatory revealed Chelsea had spent 1.6 billion euros ($2.5 billion) in transfer fees in the past decade alone, second only to Manchester City.
Elswehere in the Premier League, there were emotional scenes at Goodison Park as Everton met Manchester City.
Ukrainian players Vitalii Mykolenko of Everton and City's Oleksandr Zinchenko embraced before the game and were seen talking on the sidelines during the match.
A large banner of Mykolenko was unfurled in the stands, with the message "We stand with Ukraine".
Many fans also carried protest signs, and the players came onto the pitch in shirts emblazoned with the Ukrainian flag, with "Stop war" written on the front.
Reuters
