Tuchel admits Chelsea concerned and distracted by Abramovich ‘uncertainty’

Thomas Tuchel has admitted that he and his players are worried and distracted by the “uncertainty” created by the Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, being named in parliament on Thursday.

Tuchel said he was aware that Chelsea could be affected if the UK government targets Abramovich with sanctions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The manager acknowledged that Chelsea could not ignore that a Labour MP told parliament that Abramovich was identified by the Home Office in 2019 as having links to the Russian state as well as to “corrupt activity and practices”.

Telling MPs that he was quoting from a Home Office document leaked to him, Chris Bryant suggested that the UK should seize Abramovich’s assets and bar him from owning Chelsea. Bryant also questioned why nothing more had been done about the 55-year-old’s UK assets given this official verdict.

Abramovich has put huge sums into Chelsea since buying the club in 2003 and Tuchel faced questions about the situation before his side face Liverpool in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final. Tuchel said that his mind was “clouded” after the outbreak of war and he was asked about the potential impact on Chelsea employees and supporters if Abramovich were targeted by sanctions.

Abramovich has vehemently disputed reports suggesting his alleged closeness to Vladimir Putin and Russia or that he has done anything to merit sanctions being imposed against him.

“I am aware of all these scenarios and I am aware of all these discussions at the moment,” Tuchel said. “I would love to take my right not to comment on this until there is a decision made. But we are aware of it and it’s distracting us, it’s worrying us. To a certain degree I can understand the opinions and the critical opinions towards the