The chaos that swept the English club Chelsea in the wake of the sanctions imposed on its billionaire owner, Russian Roman Abramovich, has sparked a new debate over the sources of money that feed the richest leagues in Europe.
The British government froze the assets of Chelsea FC and justified this because of its owner Abramovich’s support for the Russian government in its military operation in Ukraine, and thus the London team was prohibited from financially benefiting from ticket sales and merchandise.
The urgent sale of the European champions will soon bring down the curtain on 19 years of almost uninterrupted success under the 55-year-old owner, who has witnessed five Premier League titles and two Champions League titles.
It was Chelsea’s first match at home since the imposition of sanctions against Newcastle, whose ownership model has also become in the spotlight, after a controversial acquisition last October by a coalition led by the Saudi Investment Fund.
Human rights group Amnesty International has raised concerns about the purchase, saying it was an attempt to “sport whitewash” of the Gulf kingdom’s human rights record.
Newcastle hopes to follow in the footsteps of Emirati-owned Manchester City, which became the dominant force in the “Premier League” over the past decade on the back of huge investments.
Nevertheless, the UAE’s decision to abstain from voting on a UN Security Council resolution condemning the Russian military operation in Ukraine and the recent meeting between club owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, led to a renewed focus on City.
British opposition Labor MP Chris Bryant said it would be “good to see the departure” of Sheikh Mansour as the club’s owner, as the government criticized his meeting with Assad, saying it undermined prospects for a lasting peace in Syria.
Sports business expert Simon Chadwick told AFP that despite concerns about Premier League club finances, it was hard to expect meaningful change in the short term, as billionaires from around the world lined up to buy Chelsea.
“European football can wean itself from the money of Russia, China and Saudi Arabia, but what is left? If they leave, who will replace them?”
The British government acknowledges the need to make an amendment, publishing a fan-led review of sports governance in November, and recommendations include the creation of a new independent regulator for English football and tests for new owners and managers to ensure “only good custodians” can run clubs.
The League’s chief executive, Richard Masters, said earlier this month that the test of club owners and managers in the league was under review, amid a demand from Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston that it should be “more robust”.
These questions about ownership and sponsorship models are not unique to the Premier League.
Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain is close to achieving its eighth French league title in ten years, while the Spanish Football Federation has been criticized for transferring the Super Cup to Saudi Arabia.
Clubs and the Premier League are under fire for apparently neglecting research questions about the source of their money in the hunt for titles in a fiercely competitive industry.