Thomas Tuchel pledges ‘maximum effort’ as Chelsea bid to offer fans distraction

Thomas Tuchel has pledged Chelsea will maintain maximum commitment to help distract supporters from the realities of war in Europe and issues on the Blues’ club structure.

An impassioned Tuchel revealed his unease even discussing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine because of his privileged position of enjoying peace while war rages in the east.

But the Chelsea manager vowed the Stamford Bridge players and coaches would attempt to keep offering a valuable distraction to supporters and football fans amid uncertain global geopolitics.

Russian-Israeli owner Roman Abramovich has attempted to pass the “stewardship and care” of Chelsea to the club foundation’s trustees, but the Charity Commission is now seeking further information over the switch.

Asked if he had any worries over Chelsea’s future, Tuchel replied: “I’m not so sure if I’m the person to give messages to the fans for anything other than sport.

“We try to be calm here, we are calm in the centre of a storm, of some noise around us that we cannot control and we are not responsible for.

“It’s best to stay calm and focus on what we do and what we love, which is sport.

“And I think we have a right to be focused on sport, and the players have a right to be focused. And this is what we can tell the fans, and I think this is what the fans saw on Sunday.

“There is a big situation out there but there’s a lot of commitment from the players.

“Everybody is aware there are more important things, that the situation is by far much more important than a game of football, but still on Sunday there was a full stadium, and still we arrived with two strong teams who played a fantastic match.

“And this is what we can do for the fans, to distract them, to entertain them, and do what we do with