- Chelsea fans came together in an organised protest against their ownership
- Hundreds gathered outside Stamford Bridge with flares and banners in protest
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Hundreds of Chelsea fans turned on owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital last night by protesting outside Stamford Bridge ahead of their clash with Southampton.
Chelsea’s form has tailed off desperately and a section of the fan-base came together on Tuesday night to direct their anger at Boehly and Clearlake Capital, who purchased the club from Roman Abramovich in 2022.
The Blues have spent handsomely since that takeover, splashing out more than £1billion on first team players, with multiple high profile managers appointed.
But they are yet to win a major trophy since the Abramovich era came to an end and patience has now worn thin for some fans.
‘We’re not Arsenal,’ read one fan’s sign. ‘Win or f**k off!’
Another fan had a ‘Clear Off’ poster which bemoaned ‘no stadium plans’, ‘no Champions League football’, ‘average players’ and an obsession with player trading.
Chelsea fans turned on their owners on Tuesday night with banners calling for them to go
Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly have spent more than £1billion on players since taking over
But Chelsea fans have not celebrated a major trophy since they took over and many protested
Tuesday’s night protest started outside the Bovril Gate at Stamford Bridge before fans marched down Fulham Road to the Stamford Gate.
There were chants of ‘we want our Chelsea back’ as well as ‘Boehly, you’re a c***’.
Furious fans also chanted the name of former owner Abramovich.
One of the larger banners read: ‘BlueCo stop killing Chelsea, get out of our club!’
As well as the march down Fulham Road, a group of fans gathered by one of the stadium gates and one fan waved around fake money in front of a cartoon of Boehly.
That gesture was used to mock Boehly after it was revealed earlier this month that the Chelsea co-owner is also co-owner of Vivid Seats, a US-site that sells tickets to sporting events at a major mark-up.
‘Need a ticket, ask Todd,’ read one fan’s sign.
Earlier this month Chelsea fans accused Boehly of a ‘breach of trust’ after the Vivid Seats link emerged.
A cartoon of Boehly was also used on banners to mock his involvement with Vivid Tickets
One fan waved around fake money to mark Boehly being a director of a ticket reselling site
Vivid Seats is also on the Premier League’s list of ‘unauthorised ticketing websites’
The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust released a strongly-worded statement in reaction in which they wrote their members have lost faith in their club tackling the ‘ongoing exploitation’ of ticket touting, while calling on Boehly to cease selling to tourists.
Vivid Seats is an US-based online marketplace of which Boehly is both an investor and director. Namechecked on the Premier League’s list of ‘unauthorised ticketing websites’, it allows foreign-based users to flog tickets for up to tens of thousands of pounds.
Chelsea themselves have previously condemned ticket touting on their own website, and the CST said in their statement: ‘Vivid Seats currently lists hundreds of Chelsea FC General Admission tickets at significantly inflated prices. As these tickets are not sold by the Chelsea FC website, they are considered by the club to be ‘illegal sales’.
‘Within the recent CST ticket touting survey, many CST members suggested that Mr Boehly’s connection with Vivid Seats is a ‘breach of trust’ and could be a conflict of interest.
‘These recent reports are very disappointing, and it is within Mr Boehly’s best interests to investigate these issues and address supporters’ concerns – we do not believe it is appropriate for any Chelsea tickets or wider Premier League tickets to be listed on the Vivid Seats website.’
