By Olawale Alabi
The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust (CST) says its membership “neither supports nor has confidence in” the Ricketts family’s bid to buy the Blues.
The influential CST conducted a snap survey of members on Friday, with 77 per cent of those polled claiming not to support the Ricketts’ bid to buy Chelsea.
The Chicago Cubs-owning Ricketts are among the final four bidders aiming to buy Chelsea.
Roman Abramovich has put the club up for sale, but he has now been sanctioned by the British government in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Chelsea have been granted a special Government licence to continue operating, though under strict terms.
Cubs chiefs and siblings Tom and Laura Ricketts front the family’s candidacy to take over at the west London club.
Chelsea fans organised a protest against the Ricketts’ candidacy to take place before Saturday’s Premier League clash with Brentford at Stamford Bridge.
Father Joe Ricketts, who has no role at the Cubs or in the bid to buy Chelsea, branded Muslims “my enemy” in leaked emails from 2019.
Chelsea fans have voiced concerns consistently on social media, and now the CST has added further weight to those worries.
“At present, it is clear that our membership neither supports nor has confidence in the Ricketts family’s bid for the club,” read a CST statement.
“This is reflective of wider concerns articulated by large, vocal sections of Chelsea’s supporter base.
“The CST Board is guided by our membership, and thus we do not currently believe it is in the best interests of our members for the Ricketts family’s bid to succeed.
“We await further public detail from the Ricketts family on concrete steps they will take to address the well-documented concerns of Chelsea supporters.
“Should the Ricketts publicly set out clear and detailed plans on how they will address support concerns, we may survey our members again in the next week.”
Tom Ricketts has built bridges with the Muslim community in Chicago ever since his father’s 2019 comments, and continues to apologise for his father’s comments.
The Ricketts have been adding advisory partners in fine-tuning their bid ahead of the April 11 deadline for improved offers, but their bid is understood to be funded entirely by cash.
Hedge fund supremo Ken Griffin has added his significant personal financial clout behind the Ricketts’ bid for Chelsea.
LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and British business titan Jonathan Goldstein, Martin Broughton and Sebastian Coe, the Ricketts family and Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca are the four remaining contenders.(dpa/NAN)
