Thread by @FiendsOTheEarth

I was 12 when #Abramovich bought #Chelsea. I remember my Dad waking me & saying we'd been bought by a billionaire! I went downstairs & read the Ceefax pages w/ him. I read the Sunday papers doublespreads of players we might buy, Veron, Crespo, Cole. I was so excited.

Thread/

I sung Roman's name. I cheered when the big screen at the Bridge cut to him smiling & clapping. I was so pleased he was ours. He facilitated some of my best memories [incl. those w/ my Dad], at home to Barca in 2012, my 1st final in Cardiff against Liverpool & many cups & titles.

I wasn't political until I reached my early twenties, & even then I only delved just below the surface - I read Chomsky, I recognised we'd been f*cked over in 2008 & I railed against it, I began to understand the climate crisis & the consequences of hoarding massive wealth.

I was aware that these new values, particularly about wealth inequality & the relationship between wealth & poverty didn't align with the sport I loved, particularly the wages.

But I compartmentalised, football was a force for good & these were just unhappy sideproducts.

But still I [mostly my Dad, thanks Dad] paid the obscene ticket prices, & the Sky Sports bills [Dad again]. When I was younger I got the shirts. I paid for the FIFA game installments. I wilfully participated. I love and loved Chelsea Football Club.

I remember balking at McDonalds adverts in football; my first sight of sports washing. They exploited the environment & devastated public health. & here they were using my sport to manipulate the public. I still didn't make the link to #Abramovich

Later it was gambling. I became fascinated by these adverts & how they portrayed gamblers as insightful, charming & involved & how in tandem they destroyed lives & actively targeted the most vulnerable whilst making supporting my team synoymous with betting. How vile.

Then FIFA granted those world cups, through corrupt mechanisms, to two corrupt states in Russia and Qatar. The World Cup takes place in December - our enjoyment of it, if we don't boycott it, will be on the graves of dozens of labourers in a country where being gay is illegal.

I still didn't make the link to #Abramovich. The cognitive dissonance, now I think about it, has been immense.

I knew from an early age how he acquired his money. I shared this information glibly when I was younger, & a little embarrasedly more recently.

More recently than I'm proud to admit I knew what sort of person Abramovich was. I knew where my clubs successes, and my fondest, most treasured memories had come from. They'd come from theft, and corruption, and violence, and god knows what else.

& still it's hard to marry what I know now & my relationship with that phantom figure over the last 20 years; his smiling & clapping, his investment in my club, my Dad hoisting me up onto the seats at the Bridge so I could see a mounting attack, & dancing to One Step Beyond.

Against the suffering in Ukraine my worries about Chelsea are insignificant. But that's not how minds/worries work & it has been on my mind. I lost my Dad 2 years ago, Chelsea has been a massive part of my life & the fate of this club is important to me.

This is an opportunity. Perhaps I as a Chelsea & football fan will look back to these moments as the days we changed for the better.

Football has a chance to rid itself not only of Roman Abramovich, but to really reflect on it's responsibilities & how it serves its fans.

Perhaps it could lead to a sustainable, socialised model of ownership w/ a focus on fans, local communities, fair play & salary caps. Where clubs aren't used for washing abhorrent behaviours, be it those of Abramovich, Saudi sovereign fund, Nike, Qatar, McDonalds or WilliamHill.

Try not to condemn the idiots singing his name too much. We're made of multitudes - they aren't cheering on Putin's regime, I don't think - they're celebrating their love of Chelsea, & Abramovich is an integral part of that.

I won't thank Abramovich for what he's done for Chelsea, I don't think he deserves anyone's thanks, but I cannot ignore that he played a significant & positive part in my life. It's not a nice thought - but there it is.

Anyway - here's to exorcising these demons from our game & to a better future for football. It's the greatest sport in the world & in the right hands it can be an immense force for good for everyone.

@GNev2 @GaryLineker #RomanAbramovich #Abramovich #ChelseaFC #ChelseaSanctions

@Okwonga @ryanhunn @AyoCaesar