European Update: The impact Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has on soccer

If you have followed any sport for the past decade or so, you have probably heard an ignorant fan or political commentator echo some version of the refrain: “Keep politics out of sports, they shouldn’t mix.” 

While certain spectators might prefer their sports depoliticized, such fans do not seem to realize that their campaign against the mixture of sports and politics will never be successful; sports and politics blend constantly and always have. As long as athletes keep making political statements in interviews, candidate donors own sports teams and wars affect international athletic competitions, politics and sports will continue to intertwine.

As such, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has had major ramifications for sports, particularly European soccer. At the outbreak of the invasion, the Russian men’s national team was in the midst of a qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup, Russian club Spartak Moscow were competing in the Europa League and Russian oligarchs owned club teams across the continent, including Chelsea FC. 

After Russia invaded Ukraine, the soccer world reacted in a manner intended to punish Russia and Russian sporting interests. 

First and foremost, the members of the Polish national team, due to play against Russia in a World Cup qualifying play-off March 24, decided to not take the field, a decision the Polish soccer federation’s president supported. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny posted a particularly emotional message on Instagram, decrying the conflict and excusing himself from participation, which kickstarted the Polish reaction against Russia.

UEFA then expelled Spartak Moscow, the only Russian club left in European competition, from the Europa League, further diminishing Putin’s ability to co-opt Russian sporting success for patriotic purposes as his country imposes their military strength on its neighbor. 

These actions align with non-soccer sports authorities, as the International Ice Hockey Federation, World Curling and World Rugby also banned Russia and Belarus — Russia’s military ally in its invasion against Ukraine — from competition.

The consequence of Russia’s invasion that has attracted the most media attention, however, are the affairs of Chelsea FC and the sanctions the United Kingdom has imposed on the club’s owner, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. 

Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003, and, with his substantial financial support, the club has won 18 major trophies since Abramovich’s takeover. In accordance with the sanctions, the British government has seized Abramovich’s UK-based assets, including, of course, Chelsea FC, one of the country’s most popular clubs. Even before the government took control of Chelsea, Abramovich had decided to sell it after coming under public pressure as the invasion broke out. But the sanctions have certainly accelerated Abramovich’s desire to sell the club and escape pressure from the British government. 

Assuming Abramovich manages to sell Chelsea for his reported asking price — around 3 billion pounds — it would be the most expensive purchase of a soccer club in history, more than doubling the 560-odd million euros the Glazers paid for Manchester United in the mid-2000s. 

Whoever purchases Chelsea will have a major impact on the future of European and British soccer, considering Chelsea has a huge global following that has developed an expectation of competing for multiple trophies each season. 

In his almost 20 years as Chelsea owner, Abramovich has injected 1.5 billion pounds of his personal wealth into the club, who have been notorious big-spenders in the transfer market, most recently acquiring German starlet Kai Havertz and the Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku for huge fees in consecutive summers. Chelsea fans have come to expect a certain level of investment and could quickly turn on a new ownership group if they decide to be more frugal. 

New owners would also likely need to invest 1 billion pounds or more into stadium redevelopment. Chelsea’s current ground, Stamford Bridge, is one of the older and smaller stadiums among Europe and England’s biggest clubs. 

Tottenham for instance, can hold 62,303 viewers in their newly built stadium, while the Bridge’s maximum occupancy is just over 40,000. A new stadium with a higher capacity would help secure the club’s financial future, allowing it to generate substantially more matchday revenue to offset high wages and transfer fees.

All in all, Chelsea has many desirable traits to offer its suitors. With one of the most popular clubs in the world’s game, Chelsea’s new owners would join an exclusive cabal of the most powerful and envied owners across sports. 

The possibility of backing a winning club and earning personal sporting glory, as well as being one of the people in the room for major Premier League decisions, is enticing to the billionaires of the world, as it was for Abramovich 20 years ago. 

The Raine Group, the bank Abramovich appointed to conduct the club’s sale on his behalf, announced a shortlist this past Friday with the four finalists who will be permitted to further analyze Chelsea’s financial information. 

Among them are the Ricketts family, owners of the Chicago Cubs, Josh Harris and David Blitzer, owners of the Philadelphia 76ers and other teams, Stephen Pagliuca, owner of the Boston Celtics, and the group led by Todd Boehly, a minority owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

The Ricketts family has attracted a particular attention and, at times, ire from Chelsea fans, who have taken issue with patriarch Joe Ricketts for his offensive and inaccurate comments about Muslim people. While Ricketts senior is not involved in the bid for Chelsea, #NoToRicketts has trended on Twitter among Chelsea fans. 

Whatever the result, an American-led consortium will own Chelsea.

All this being said, one must note that the ongoing change in Chelsea’s ownership pales in comparison to the grave importance of the invasion of Ukraine and the suffering of its people. While major political events have interesting consequences in sports worth analysis, the health and wellbeing of real people matters infinitely more. 

Hopefully this conflict reaches a peaceful conclusion with minimal casualties on both sides, especially for the civilians of Ukraine. 

Jack Hallinan is a freshman discussing the latest news surrounding European soccer. His column “European Update,” runs every other Monday.