On Saturday night, Roman Abramovich announced that he had relinquished control of Premier League club Chelsea.

The Russian oligarchs bought back the London club in 2003. With the help of large sums of money, he has made the team one of the most successful clubs in the world.

There have been several hurricanes around the 55-year-old, which in recent years have struggled to make their way to the UK.

But never as much as in recent days given the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

– Today I give a trustee to the Chelsea charitable foundation the management and care of Chelsea FC. “I think they are currently in the best position to look after the interests of the club, the players, the staff and the fans,” he said in a statement statement from Abramovich on Saturday.

Play for gallery

Andreas Selliaas is one of Norway’s leaders on the topic of sport policy. Through idrettspolitikk.no Over the years he has written numerous commentaries and articles on the political game in sport.

He stated that Abramovich only claimed that he left day-to-day decision-making, but was still the owner. He shows no signs of wanting to sell the Champions League winner.

– This is a technical exercise for Abramovich. He will not lose control, but the club will not be punished if the English authorities follow suit. Apparently he did this to save the club, Selliaas told Dagbladet.

Three problems with Putin: – Dangerous

On Twitter, he has asked football fans not to bite the PR trick.

– How do you think this is a PR trick?

– All I know is he has a number of strong PR people working for him. They are trying to sell this to the media to create goodwill in a situation in the UK where politicians want to freeze their money.

He pointed out that Abramovich did not mention war in a single word in his statement.

– He’s not too worried about what’s happening in Ukraine, says Selliaas.

On its website, Chelsea refers to it as “the conflict in Ukraine”.

– Good relationship with Putin

Sports writer Oliver Holt in the Daily Mail also points out that Russia is not distancing itself from the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.

– He showed no remorse that Russia had invaded Ukraine. He showed no remorse for the fact that Russian troops killed innocent Ukrainians. Nor is he distancing himself from Putin, he wrote in comments to Daily mail.

It was previously reported that Abramovich has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Selliaas claims Abramovich has served as a football ambassador for the much-publicized president.

– He’s on Putin’s side. All the rich people who had political ambitions throughout Putin’s policies have been killed, imprisoned, or had their fortunes stolen. That he is still where he is now is a clear sign that he is still on good terms with Putin, Selliaas believes, and continues:

– He has been a very important football ambassador for Putin. In the book “Putin’s People” it is claimed that he bought Chelsea on orders from Putin. Abramovich himself filed a defamation suit against the publisher and journalist to remove the statement.

Abramovich also won the lawsuit.

Sanctions that apply

Britain and Boris Johnson announced on Thursday severe sanctions against Russian banks and individuals in the UK following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

So far, Abramovich is not one of the individuals brought down by the authorities.

The image that Putin is afraid of

Labor politician Chris Bryant believes British authorities did not attack Abramovich hard enough. He claims to be sitting on leaked documents from 2019, which he claims show the billionaire has paid for political influence.

– This was three years ago, and nothing happened. He shouldn’t be allowed to own a football club in England, Bryant said at the British House of Commons this week, according to Security.