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Fans at a Chelsea Football Club game over the weekend interrupted applause meant to show solidarity with Ukraine and started chanting Roman Abramovich's name.
A video posted by a Twitter user shows a crowd of Chelsea FC fans singing Russian billionaire Abramovich's name at a Premier League match against Burnley on March 5.
Abramovich, a Russia oligarch and the club's longtime owner, has been linked to the Russian state. He has denied any connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The chants were said to show support for Abramovich in spite of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Abramovich announced he is selling the club, which he has owned since 2003, in a statement on March 3. He said net proceeds from the sale would go to supporting victims of the war in Ukraine. The club has been successful under his ownership, winning two UEFA Champions League titles and five Premier League trophies.
The billionaire's announcement came as the US and EU placed sanctions on several Russian oligarchs in reaction to Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. While Abramovich is not among the sanctioned billionaires, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's organization named Abramovich as one of 35 billionaires who should be considered for sanctions.
Chelsea FC manager Thomas Tuchel criticized fans for chanting Abramovich's name. In a press conference after the match, he said "it's not the moment to do this."
"If we show solidarity we show solidarity and we should do it together," Tuchel said. "We do it for Ukraine and there is no second opinion about this situation. They have our thoughts and our support and we should stand together," he added.
In an interview with BBC's Sunday Morning, UK Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab also denounced the chants.
"I'm a Chelsea fan and I think it's totally wrong," he told the BBC on March 6. "It would be a minority of fans doing it, and I thought Thomas Tuchel, the manager, was quite right to come out and be clear about his disagreement with that," he added.
The chants have divided Chelsea FC fans on social media, where some continued to show their support for Abramovich.
"If this is the end, then big gratitude & appreciation to a man who is a fan first and has done so much for us," one Twitter user wrote, garnering almost 12,0000 likes.
Other soccer fans have remained critical of Abramovich.
"Why are Chelsea fans getting so weird trying to defend Roman Abramovich," another Twitter user wrote. "No amount of money or trophies will clean blood off that man's hands."
Chelsea FC did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.
