James Younghusband, Chelsea fans reflect on club sanctions

MANILA, Philippines – Following the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, sanctions were levied not only against the latter but also on oligarchs identified with Vladimir Putin.

One of those severely affected by the sanctions and freezing of assets of Russian billionaires is Roman Abramovich, who among others owns English Football Club Chelsea.

Under Abramovich, since 2003, Chelsea has seen its Golden Age of football as they have won 21 major trophies in that span — more than any other English club.

With an uncertain future ahead, we spoke to three people who identify with Chelsea: a former player in its youth academy, a Londoner who has followed the club for almost 75 years, and a Filipino fan in Manila to weigh in their thoughts.

James Younghusband (Chelsea FC Youth Team 1997-2003)

“I feel confident that this won’t affect Chelsea too much. I think they have the right group of players and the mentality to get through this current situation. One example is the result against Newcastle last night (a 1-0 win).

There are of course, questions regarding the sanctions. I think there will be a new ownership within 81 days given by the UK government. The only question is — who will it be? 

It is nice to see academy players like Mason Mount and Reese James coming up. If there is anything also positive it is the players coming up from the academy. 

My fond memories of Chelsea would be getting the chance to play and learn from the first team and legends of the club. We also did camps around Europe. Those were good times to bond with other players and to learn the ways of being a professional football player.”

George Alviar, fan based in Metro Manila

“I’m torn between the good ownership of Roman Abramovich and the principle of humanity. It makes me sad that the funding through the ownership comes from ill-gotten gains and favor of the Russian president that also goes to Russia’s war machine. 

This for me, supersedes the spirit of the sport. If it were under different circumstances, I would simply say, “go on playing.” Except the situation is far from simple.

Selling the club would help and I hope that it will not hurt the current team’s success. I want the glory days when we had Didier Drogba, John Terry, and Frank Lampard to return. I do not think we are far off.” 

Tom Burrows, retired English government official based in London

“I am 80-years old and have been a fan practically all my life. I have been to Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea on many occasions. I saw them as a youngster and still do so every chance I get but I watch them now on my streaming applications. 

It has been absolutely a wonderful run and Chelsea won every trophy in sight under Abramovich’s reign. And fans love him because he has put a lot of money and lost many because of the club. 

During the height of the pandemic, Roman opened up the Chelsea hotel to NHS staff. The government has conveniently forgotten the good things he has done. He is in a Catch-22 situation where he also cannot criticize Putin because if he does, he will be imprisoned or he cannot go back to Russia. 

I am not saying the assets of the oligarchs should not be seized but I think the government should have acted much earlier and done a better job of handling this. 
 
But this is a lot bigger than one Premier League Team, there is the Under-23 team, the women’s team, the academy. So much uncertainty. The Premier League and the Football Association should move quickly to help the club on this.”