A Russian attack near Ukraine’s Polish border claims a further 35 lives. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia executes 81 people in one day. Even if you do live in a social, moral and political vacuum, it is remarkable that statistics such as these should attach to a Premier League football match taking place in London.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe expressed his sympathy for his opposite number Thomas Tuchel, who is tasked with holding the centre as Chelsea navigate an uncertain future. Howe has experience of dealing with awkward political and moral questions relating to Newcastle’s Saudi Arabian owners, about which, he claims, he has little understanding.
In the context of Tuchel and his troubles, and the Saudi executions, Howe relies on the standard escape route, that he is just a football man, which in his universe puts distance between the realities both he and Tuchel occupy and those governing ownership of their clubs. It is not for him or Tuchel to comment on connected matters, he believes.
All well and good until the consequences of ownership bear down as they have on Chelsea this past week. The disqualification of Roman Abramovich as a Chelsea director by the Premier League on the eve of the match was of little material significance following his sanction by the UK Government. It simply formalised the end of empire, contributing further to the sense of anomie swirling about Stamford Bridge.
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Thus are Chelsea subtly repositioned as victims of an appalling development. “We will try our best to finish the season, to do the best we can and hope the situation improves,” Cech said. “We hope people at club will be able to get their salaries and continue to work. We are supporting each other. It is a difficult situation, a lot of questions, not many answers.”
The fixture obviously placed fans in a moral quandary. Or at least you hope it did. The Saudi Arabian standard flying amongst the away supporters suggested some find it easier than others to reconcile the mores of a regime that ranks fifth in the world for executions with life on the Gallowgate End. Separating out the trivial stuff from the profound is a problem for us all. That any should care about outcomes in a corner of west London when the people of Ukraine are dying at the hands of Russian aggressors 1,500 miles away is troubling to say the least.
The match played out in a weird atmosphere, the home fans trapped between knowing and not knowing. That their world had changed is obvious. What the post-Abramovich landscape looks like no-one can say. Optimists hope for a replacement billionaire, or a billionaire bundle, to maintain the champagne moments to which they have become so accustomed these past 19 years. Pessimists suspect those days are gone, candidates willing to burn unlimited supplies of cash on football trinkets an endangered species in this incipient age of accountability.
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Some see the Chelsea experience as a moment of reckoning for English football, an opportunity to reset and reassess the relationship between clubs, communities and fans. The Chelsea Supporters Trust met before the match in a pub opposite Stamford Bridge. Spokesman Dan Silver appeared on BBC radio’s 5Live programme expressing the hope that a new ownership model at Chelsea would involve fan representation. Silver is an advocate of the much-discussed “golden share” mechanism, which would give supporters power of veto over key issues.
The paradox here, of course, is the reluctance of fans to challenge the operating structures in real time. Abramovich is being assessed retrospectively, and not all are prepared to criticise or give him up. For a more representative picture witness the acceptance in Newcastle of the Saudi Investment Fund’s billions. Reasonably enough fans baulk at the idea they should stage ethical protests when the British state, businesses and banks are happy to take Saudi cash.
All of these considerations were a matter for the hours before kick-off. As the clock ticked towards 2pm focus returned to trade issues like formations, positions in the table, and even which players might stay or go as the Chelsea fallout continues. Tuchel to Manchester United was typical of the speculative threads amusing the football commentariat. Concern about the issues that triggered the club’s trauma all too readily set aside. And when Kai Havertz hit the game’s only goal a minute from time, it seemed football really was the only thing that mattered in this life.
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