Trouble for Roman Abramovich, Alisher Usmanov as UK introduces sanctions for Russian oligarchs

By Online Desk

LONDON: Roman Abramovich’s attempt to shift the “stewardship and care” of Chelsea to the Premier League club’s foundation has sparked the trustees to report the move to the British body overseeing charities.

The unexpected announcement from the Chelsea owner, which lacked full clarity, was issued on Saturday following calls for him to be targeted by British sanctions regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and to sell the club.

The Charity Commission, which regulates the Chelsea Foundation, has received a “serious incident report” from its trustees amid concerns about how Abramovich’s plan can be enacted.

The foundation’s chairman is Bruce Buck, who has also chaired Chelsea for most of the 19 years the Russian oligarch has owned the west London club.

Beyond women’s team manager Emma Hayes and director of finance Paul Ramos, the trustees with more separation from the club are British Olympic Association chairman Hugh Robertson, lawyer John Devine and anti-discrimination leader Piara Powar, the executive director of the FARE network.

The Charity Commission is seeking further information from them about the running of the club and the foundation.

“We have contacted the charity seeking information,” the commission said, “and, in line with our guidance, the charity has also made a report to the commission. We cannot comment further at this time.”

Abramovich has provided no indication that he is going to sell Chelsea, nor what exactly it means to be giving “stewardship and care” of the club to trustees who he said are “in the best position to look after the interests of the club, players, staff, and fans.”

The trustees have not publicly accepted Abramovich’s plan.

Chelsea itself has also issued no comment, beyond remarks from manager Thomas Tuchel that indicated little difference to the running of the club led by director Marina Granovskaia, a long-standing associate of Abramovich, and technical director Petr Cech, the former goalkeeper.

“They’re in charge of football and it’s my understanding they will stay in charge,” Tuchel said on Sunday.

“So it will not change a lot for me.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was challenged on Tuesday during a visit to Poland about Abramovich.

“You are talking about more sanctions prime minister,” said Daria Kaleniuk, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre, a Ukrainian civil society organization, “but Roman Abramovich is not sanctioned, he’s in London, his children are not in the bombardments, his children are there in London.

There was no specific response by Johnson.

Abramovich has yet to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for launching the invasion of Ukraine.

“Every right thinking person should denounce what Putin has done,” British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said when asked about Abramovich.

Alisher Usmanov, who has sponsorship links to Everton, has had his assets frozen as part of sanctions imposed by the European Union in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Uzbek-born billionaire’s USM Holdings sponsors Everton’s training ground, with an initial five-year deal announced in 2017.

It also has an option on naming rights for the Toffees’ new stadium – a deal worth 30 million pound sterling (40.2 million USD) to the club.

The EU said in a statement that its Council had “added 26 persons and one entity to the list of persons, entities and bodies subject to restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine”.

And a regulation update in the Official Journal of the European Union said Usmanov, a long-time business partner of Everton owner Farhad Moshiri, was among the 26.

The statement said restrictive measures included “an asset freeze and a prohibition from making funds available to the listed individuals and entities”, while “a travel ban applicable to the listed persons prevents these from entering or transiting through EU territory”.

The regulation update describes Usmanov as a “pro-Kremlin oligarch with particularly close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin”.

German coach Markus Gisdol quit his job as coach of Russian soccer club Lokomotiv Moscow on Tuesday in protest at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Lokomotiv said simply that Gisdol was “removed from the post of head coach” after less than four months in charge.

He told German tabloid Bild it was a gesture of protest at working in a country “whose head of state is responsible for a war of aggression in the middle of Europe.”

“I cannot stand on the training field in Moscow, coaching the players, demanding professionalism, and a couple of kilometers away orders are being issued which bring great suffering to an entire people,” Gisdol told the newspaper.

Lokomotiv is owned by Russian Railways, which was placed under U.S. sanctions last week.

Gisdol was appointed in October by then-sporting director Ralf Rangnick, who then moved on to coach Manchester United.

Former Liverpool and Ukraine striker Andriy Voronin left his post as assistant coach of Dynamo Moscow and Ukrainian goalkeeper Yaroslav Hodzyur quit another club, Ural Yekaterinburg.

Ural’s president told the Tass news agency a second Ukrainian player would also follow.

Others are staying put.

“I’m not the kind of person to take a ticket and fly away,” Dynamo’s German head coach Sandro Schwarz said in comments published in Russian on the club website on Saturday.

“That’s not me. I feel responsibility and I will be at the club.”

The Russian Premier League has continued operations despite the war, while the Ukrainian Premier League was suspended when the invasion began last week.

Brazilian players from clubs around Ukraine appealed to their government for help leaving the country.

More and more sports are following the appeal of the International Olympic Committee and banning Russian athletes from competing in the wake of the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia was barred from competing in international ice skating, skiing, basketball and track on Tuesday, a day after being kicked out of soccer competitions and hockey, Vladimir Putin’s favorite team sport.

The decisions follow the IOC’s request to international sports federations to keep Russian athletes out of events they organize.

The International Skating Union, the body that runs the sport around the world, said no athletes from Russia or Belarus “shall be invited or allowed to participate” in events until further notice.

Belarus has been a key ally of Russia in its attack on Ukraine.

The world figure skating championships are scheduled for later this month in Montpellier, France.

The ISU decision means Olympic champion Anna Shcherbakova and 15-year-old teammate Kamila Valieva, who was the focus of a still-unresolved doping dispute at last month’s Winter Olympics, will be excluded from the competition.

The sports restrictions have drawn sharp criticism from Russia.

“Our country has always adhered to the principle that sport is beyond politics, but we are constantly drawn into the politics, because they understand the importance of sport in the lives of our Russian people,” Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, who was stripped of an IOC honor for organizing the 2014 Sochi Olympics, said Tuesday at a Sports Ministry meeting.

In Norway, Russian cross-country skiers, who won 11 medals at the Beijing Olympics, were heading home after being excluded from competition by the International Ski Federation, known as FIS.

The decision came after a three-day standoff with Norwegian ski officials, who said they would refuse to let Russians and Belarusians race even if the governing body maintained its previous policy of allowing them to compete as neutral athletes.

“Firstly, I am glad that FIS has taken this decision,” said Norwegian ski federation president Erik Røste, who also sits on the governing body’s ruling council.

“Then I have to be honest and say it has taken too long.”

The FIS position shifted Tuesday morning after its president, Johan Eliasch, took part in a conference call hosted by the IOC with the governing bodies of Olympic sports.

In track and field, Russia has been suspended since 2015 for doping violations but allowed to compete as “Authorized Neutral Athletes. On Tuesday, the sport moved to a blanket ban on Russia and Belarus.”

The governing body of track is run by Sebastian Coe.

As an athlete, Coe defied calls to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics because of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan and won a gold medal in the 1,500 meters.

“I have railed against the practice of politicians targeting athletes and sport to make political points when other sectors continue about their business,” Coe said.

“This is different as governments, business and other international organizations have imposed sanctions and measures against Russia across all sectors. Sport has to step up and join these efforts to end this war and restore peace. We cannot and should not sit this one out.”

Russia was also suspended by the International Basketball Federation.

That will hit Russia’s bid to qualify for next year’s men’s World Cup.

Russia already had one qualifying game against the Netherlands called off last week.

The Russian women’s team has qualified for a place at the World Cup in September.

The International Volleyball Federation said it had stripped Russia of hosting the men’s world championships in August and September and would seek another host country or countries.

“It would be impossible to prepare and stage the World Championships in Russia due to the war in Ukraine,” the FIVB board said.

Volleyball also suspended Russian teams and clubs from international events, while rowing and badminton decided to exclude Russian athletes from their competitions.

The sport of swimming, however, has so far chosen to ignore the recommendation from the IOC to ban Russians.

The sport’s governing body, known as FINA, said Tuesday it would allow Russian and Belarusian swimmers to take part “as neutrals, competing under the FINA flag and with the FINA anthem.”

The FINA website still lists Russia as hosting the world short-course championships in December.

The swimming body, however, said it had withdrawn a federation honor awarded to Putin in 2014.

Russian athletes have already arrived in China for the Winter Paralympics, which open Friday.

They are scheduled to compete as RPC, short for Russian Paralympic Committee, after the IOC offered a possible exemption for events starting at short notice.

The Ukrainian team isn’t yet in Beijing, but organizers said they expect the country’s athletes to arrive in time.

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said it doesn’t want the Russian team to compete in Beijing.

“As the world watches in horror while Russia brazenly attacks the innocent people and athletes of Ukraine, this is the only acceptable action to be taken until peace has been restored,” the USOPC said in a statement.

The governing bodies of three Olympic sports, fencing, shooting and boxing, are led by Russians.

None has yet barred the country’s athletes from competing.

The billionaire president of the International Fencing Federation, Alisher Usmanov, said Tuesday he would “suspend the exercise of my duties, until justice is restored” after being sanctioned by the European Union.

Shooting has allowed Russians and Belarusians to keep competing at an ongoing World Cup event in Egypt, while boxing said it would discuss the issue “later this week” at a board meeting.

The invasion has also led to some sponsors and companies cutting ties.

Adidas, the maker of the Russian national soccer team jerseys, said it was suspending its partnership with the federation with immediate effect.

Ukraine’s 20 athletes for the Winter Paralympics are expected to be in Beijing in time for Friday’s opening ceremony, IPC spokesman Craig Spence told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Spence said the team was heading for the Chinese capital and could arrive as soon as Wednesday.

The arrival had been in doubt after Russia invaded Ukraine last week.

The International Paralympic Committee board is to meet Wednesday and could put further sanctions on Russian athletes or expel them from the Paralympics.

Russian athletes are set to compete in Beijing as RPC, short for Russian Paralympic Committee, in fallout from a state-sponsored doping scandal and coverup dating to the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Belarus is also expected to sanctioned by the IPC board for its part in the war.

Belarusians could be forced to compete as neutral athletes in Beijing, as could Russia.

Russian athletes in last month’s Winter Olympics competed as ROC, short for Russian Olympic Committee, because of the doping scandal.

The International Olympic Committee, which has repeatedly failed to forcefully punish Russia for its doping history, on Monday pushed dozens of sports governing bodies to exclude Russian athletes and officials from international events.

The IOC, which left the decision to others, said this action was needed to “protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants. The IOC also gave sports bodies a way around expulsion.”

“Whenever this is not possible on short notice for organizational or legal reasons, the IOC. Strongly urges international sports federations and organizers of sports events worldwide to do everything in their power to ensure that no athlete or sports official from Russia or Belarus be allowed to take part under the name of Russia or Belarus,” the IOC said.

Russia is expected to have 71 athletes entered in the Paralympics.

About 650 athletes from 49 delegations, including Ukraine, are expected for the Games.

The Winter Olympics in Beijing drew 2,900 athletes from 91 delegations.

It closed on Feb.20.

The Paralympics end on March 13.

(With Inputs from PTI and AP)