Chelsea Receive Huge Backlash Over Statement About 'Ukraine Conflict'

Chelsea have come in for lots of criticism, after their very short statement about the invasion of Ukraine failed to mention 'Russia.'

Earlier in the week there were calls from British MPs to seize the ownership of the club from Roman Abramovich, as a sanction following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Whilst Abramovich has continued to claim that he has no close ties to Vladimir Putin, and his daughter posted on social media against the war, many fans felt the billionaire should lose the club.

On Saturday it was announced that he had handed over the 'stewardship and care' of the club to trustees of the club's charitable foundation, however he remains as the owner, questioning how much the action even means.

On Sunday the club then came out with a statement about Ukraine, but it completely missed the mark, not mentioning the words 'war' or 'invasion,' instead just calling it a situation.

"The situation in Ukraine is horrific and devastating. Chelsea FC’s thoughts are with everyone in Ukraine. Everyone at the club is praying for peace," the statement read.

Unsurprisingly, the statement hasn't gone down well at all, with fans calling on the club to actually condemn the actions of Russia.

Labour MP Chris Bryant, who was the first member of parliament to speak out against Abramovich last week, has said that the 55-year-old's actions to hand over the 'stewardship' have not gone far enough.

Posting on Twitter, the MP for Rhondda, Wales, he said, "I’m worried that the British press (with some notable exceptions) have fallen for the Abramovich line on ceding control.

"Unless and until he condemns the criminal invasion of Ukraine I will continue to call for the UK to sanction him and seize/freeze assets."

The Blues are set to face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on Sunday at Wembley and could probably have done without the distractions that their current situation have provided.