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SOCCER - WINTER 2022

Dolfan in NYC

By Dolfan in NYC
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RIPPA

RIPPA

Posted
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1 hour ago, AxB said:

Roman Abramovich puts Chelsea on the market. Wants £4 billion.

The story (at least ESPN's version)

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Roman Abramovich is willing to listen to offers for Chelsea as pressure grows over his ownership amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, sources have told ESPN.

The 55-year-old attempted to separate the club from a possible personal sanction from the U.K. government by passing "stewardship and care" of Chelsea on to its trustees on Saturday.

However, sources have told ESPN that the trustees are seeking legal advice before responding to Abramovich's instruction due to concerns that a charitable foundation is not a suitable entity to run a football club.

In the meantime, Abramovich is understood to be seriously considering selling Chelsea, with the U.K. government under mounting pressure to freeze the assets of high net-worth Russians in England with any alleged links to Vladimir Putin.

Abramovich has always strenuously denied any ties to the Putin regime, and Chelsea have repeatedly previously insisted the club is not for sale.

The club did not respond to a request to clarify this position when contacted by ESPN on Wednesday.

If the U.K. government was to act and sanction Abramovich, Chelsea would be frozen because it's one of his assets. In that scenario he could not sell the club or inject any funds into it -- which would have huge repercussions for the club.

At Wednesday's session of Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, the opposition party leader, Labour's Sir Keir Starmer, opened by calling for sanctions against the Chelsea owner.

"Roman Abramovich is the owner of Chelsea Football Club and various other high-value assets in the United Kingdom," Starmer said.

"He is a person of interest to the Home Office because of his links to the Russian state and his public association with corrupt activity and practices. Last week he [U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson] said Abramovich was facing sanctions. He later corrected the record to say he isn't. Well, why on Earth isn't he?"

Johnson replied: "It is not appropriate for me to comment on individual cases at this stage."

Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 for £140 million. The club's latest accounts show he is owed £1.514 billion in loans through parent company Fordstam Limited, which he controls.

When Chelsea announced their latest accounts -- a £145.6m loss after tax for the year ending June 30, 2021, despite winning the Champions League -- the club admitted at the time they were "reliant on Fordstam Limited for its continued financial support."

Swiss business tycoon Hansjoerg Wyss has claimed Abramovich contacted interested parties on Tuesday to sound out potential interest.

"Abramovich is currently trying to sell all his villas in England. He also wants to get rid of Chelsea quickly now. I, along with three other people, received an offer on Tuesday to buy Chelsea from Abramovich," Swiss newspaper Blick quoted Wyss as saying in an interview published on Wednesday.

Sources have told ESPN that Abramovich has told potential buyers in the past that he valued the club at around £3bn.

Wyss added, "Abramovich is asking for far too much at the moment. You know: Chelsea owes him £2bn. But Chelsea has no money. Meaning: those who buy Chelsea should compensate Abramovich."

American businessman Todd Boehly was interested in buying a London Premier League club before the coronavirus pandemic, sounding out both Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, only to have his interest rebuffed.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Britain's richest man, according to a Forbes study from 2021, previously held preliminary talks with Abramovich over a possible purchase.

Ratcliffe's brother Bob, who runs the football division of his company INEOS, told BBC Radio 5live last month that "we were a significant way apart on valuations."

Another complicating factor for a potential buyer is the difficulty in renovating Stamford Bridge. Complicated plans to redevelop the 41,800-seat stadium -- which involved knocking the existing structure down and rebuilding a 61,000-capacity venue -- were shelved by Abramovich in 2018 around the time his U.K. investor visa expired. The site's freehold is held by Chelsea Pitch Owners and would not therefore be included in any sale of the club.

 

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Tabe

Tabe

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On 2/22/2022 at 12:21 PM, Tabe said:

Will be interesting to see how the new CBAs for the men and women play out since their two current contracts are so wildly different.

Upon further information, it turns out that the settlement only takes effect if both the men and women agree to new CBAs.  I have a feeling the settlement is going to fall apart.

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SirFozzie

SirFozzie

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Oh fuck. The shots I'm seeing out of mexico look horrid. official reports are of no dead yet, but the shots that I saw on twitter.. *shudder*.

 

edit: For context, a riot broke out at the Atlas-Querétaro game tonight. Unofficial, unverified report is that there's a number of fatalities.

Edited by SirFozzie
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RIPPA

RIPPA

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Liga MX club Queretaro will play home matches with no fans for one year and ban the barras supporters' groups for three years as part of its punishment following scenes of violence at a soccer game last weekend that left 26 people injured.

The punishments, following clashes between fans during Queretaro's match against visiting Atlas at Estadio Corregidora on Saturday, were announced on Tuesday by Mexican Football Federation president Yon de Luisa and Liga MX president Mikel Arriola.

Queretaro's ownership group (Gabriel Solares, Adolfo Ríos, Greg Taylor and Manuel Velarde) will also be banned from league-related activities for five years and the club will be returned to previous owners Grupo Caliente, which owns fellow Liga MX club Tijuana. Queretaro's current ownership will also be fined 1.5 million pesos ($70,450 U.S.).

Grupo Caliente will be tasked with selling Queretaro by the end of this year, and if unable to do so, it will go under the ownership of Liga MX.

"Starting today, measures will be implemented that will mark a before and after in the protocols that must be observed and followed," Arriola said at a news conference. "We are facing the problem head-on, with the aim of changing this negative image from the previous weekend."

Saturday's match was suspended midgame after multiple fights broke out in the stands. Security personnel opened the gates to the field so that fans, including women and children, could escape the clashes. Authorities announced on Tuesday that 10 arrests have been made on potential charges that include violence in a sporting event and attempted homicide.

Of the 26 people injured, 19 have been released, while three remain in critical condition. No deaths have been officially reported.

Individuals who form part of Queretaro's barras (referred to as "animation groups" by De Luisa and Arriola) will not be able to attend away games for one year, with Atlas-affiliated barras banned from away matches for six months. In addition, any person found to have been involved in the incident will be given a lifetime ban from all Mexican soccer stadiums.

Other safety measures that will be implemented by all Liga MX teams for the 2022-23 season include facial recognition technology and fan IDs, which will register and identify members of supporters' groups. Minors will also no longer be allowed in the supporters' group sections.

State, local and municipal police will also now provide security at Liga MX games, as opposed to the private security often used at games.

De Luisa also said Liga MX decided not to disaffiliate Queretaro from the 18-team league to avoid impacting the ongoing 2022 Clausura season. The club's youth and women's squads will also have to play behind closed doors.

The league also ruled that the match, which was at 1-0 in Atlas' favor before being abandoned in the 63rd minute, will be recorded as a 3-0 Atlas win.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/mexican-liga-bbva-mx/story/4612434/liga-mx-queretaro-home-fans-banned-for-1-year-barras-get-3-year-ban-owners-must-sell-club

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