Chelsea v Liverpool at Wembley – a football festival. But the League Cup final is overshadowed by an issue that the Blues cannot separate themselves from.
A bright blue, cloudless sky over London awakens spring fever. People are enjoying life outside, even though it can soon get sensitively chilly in the shade. So a leaden curtain also hangs over the tense anticipation of the League Cup final with Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC in the evening. Where there was anticipation in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the club from the south-west of the British capital takes centre stage in the talks.
Fan chants out of time
The ironic Liverpool fan chant “We’re on the march with Jurgen’s Army” (Klopp) as a reminiscence of the hits of the cup finals at Wembley in the 1970s and 1980s with “Bob’s” and Kenny “s” (Paisley and Dalglish) “red army” no longer strikes a chord.
Likewise, puns that are popular in the media, such as the one with “Roman’s Empire” at Chelsea FC, sound out of time. Roman Abramovich, who has invested several billion pounds in the “Blues” in 20 years and led them to the top of the world, must fear heavy sanctions in Great Britain. Like other oligarchs who enjoy a life of luxury and freedom in London and profit from Stalin-like policies. Who are now to have their ruble-spoiled accounts hit.
Abramovich’s move
Abramovich’s move to have the club and its wealth managed by a foundation of the club’s organisation must first be seen only as a move, not an offer to sell.
The official statement of Chelsea Football Club on the current political situation in Europe and the world seems reserved. A few thin lines say more than a thousand words about how entangled Chelsea is with Russia and financiers like Gazprom. And they also indicate how much fear of reprisals there is.
The statement is conspicuously neutral: “The situation in Ukraine is horrific and devastating. Chelsea FC’s thoughts are with everyone in Ukraine. Everyone at the club is praying for peace.” The situation in Ukraine is horrific and devastating. CFC’s thoughts are with everyone in Ukraine. Everyone at the club is praying for peace.
The fact that Putin is waging this war, that the Russians invaded Ukraine, is explicitly not stated there. Ahead of the first major global final at Wembley since the 2021 European Championship final, Chelsea FC are thus losers.
The 2022 League Cup final, which to many participants and observers seems like a relic of old-fashioned footballing times, provides a further impetus for professional sport, especially football, particularly the Premier League, to examine the origins and attitudes of its modern financiers.
