Juan Sebastian Veron, Angel Di Maria, Donny Van De Beek Alexis Sanchez have what in common? Belng monumental flops when signed by Manchester United. They are not the first and won’t be the last to prove useless when arriving at Old Trafford. Nor are United the only club to get less value for money than a pioneer in a distillery.
It wouldn’t take a particularly harsh adjudication to conclude Timo Werner falls into the unfortunate category. Luckily for Chelsea they had brought Romelu Lukaku – another misfit at Old Trafford – before events of the past week unfolded.
One was reminded of episode of The Simpsons wherein Homer is buying something or other and is offered the ‘Friends Of Flanders Discount’. Except in current circumstances, it’s the ‘Pals Of Putin Banishing’. Witness Abramovich relinquishing control of Chelsea or Dimitri Mazepin being removed as head backer of the Haas Formula 1 team. As a consequence of which his son has lost his seat with Gunther Steiner’s minnows.
For me, punishing an organisation for the actions of one – just like punishing an entire team because one player – is draconian and wrong. The F1 case even more so because nobody connected to the team, other than the benefactor, is adjudged to have done something wrong.
The fact that Mazepin Jnr is mediocre at best is neither here nor there, an entire team and as a result many people who have no connection with Dimitri other than working for the team of which he was the benefactor may have their jobs put in jeopardy. Simply because Mazepin is a Putinite.
While sanctioning the F1 money man might have drastic consequences for the already struggling Haas outfit, it would be foolhardy to underestimate the impact sanctions imposed upon Chelsea FC might have on the Thomas Tuchel trained outfit.
Now, at this point, let it again be stated that I think punishing an entire club – and inexplicably in this case – fans thereof is entirely over the top. Why punish fans (only season ticket holders will be granted admittance under the current embargoes) whose only ‘wrong’ is to follow a team owned by an oligarch.
That Abramovich’s image and standing has been sullied by his close association with Putin is beyond debate. As is the fact that the likes of Mazepin the elder and the Chelsea owner should face sanction for their ties to the waring tyrant.
However, are they not shooting themselves in the foot by not letting the man who transformed the London club upon acquisition thereof in 2003 offload his prized asset? Plus, even if it was the case the Chelsea owner was or is in cahoots with his country’s President, he hardly involved anything to do with the football club therein.
The desire to get people with connections to an megalomaniac out of the particular sports is completely understandable, but those competing in the different disciplines are not the ones who need sanctioning.