Chelsea took on Charlton in this round of the FA Cup, and visiting fans began chanting the name of former owner Roman Abramovich right from the opening whistle.
In the previous round, when Chelsea lost 1-2 away to Fulham, fans in the away section held up "BlueCo Out" banners before kick-off, but their real discontent boiled over in the second half. After the team fell 0-1 behind, the stands resounded with chants against the club’s owners.
"We don’t care about Clearlake, they don’t care about us; we only care about Chelsea Football Club!" the fans shouted, including some sharp criticisms aimed at Behdad Eghbali, who was watching the game from the stands alongside new manager Michel Rosier. The name of former owner Abramovich was also loudly sung by the supporters.
Going further back, during Chelsea’s away match against Manchester City, the club’s die-hard traveling fans also chanted Abramovich’s name throughout the game.
A recent survey released by the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust showed that over 90% of respondents lack confidence in "the ownership group’s football-related decision-making", and more than 80% believe the club’s current operation model cannot achieve "sustained success" in the next three to five years.
