Murky Money & Modern Football
It is too late to grow a moral conscience over murky money
Last week long-time Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the British government. As a result, the football club he has owned has become a frozen asset with the ability to operate on a day-to-day basis, but not generate any profit for its billionaire owner. A decision met with fondness by many in the UK with the hope that it is a watershed moment where football in the UK can clean itself up and get back to being the people’s game. I am sorry to say it won’t happen now or ever.
Most may not have realised in June 2003 that when Roman Abramovich purchased Chelsea it would change the landscape of football permanently. Chelsea would spend £153 million on acquisitions during the 2003/04 season after Abramovich acquired the club. Followed by another £149 million the next season Chelsea would be propelled to being Premier League champions in successive seasons. With only just under £4 million recouped in player sales in this period, the spending was unprecedented, but would soon become the norm at the upper echelons of the game.
Though Abramovich was the first football club owner of his type, he certainly would not be the last. The premier league now boasts 14 owners who are Billionaires. The Premier League is broadcast all around the world and generates £2.3 billion in revenue each season as a result. The horse has not only already bolted on this issue, but it has also won the race, fifty more races afterward, and retired after years of good service.
However, the question with Abramovich was always about how he had made his money and the links he had to the authoritarian Putin regime in Russia. In recent weeks these links have been laid bare for all to see, ignorance is no longer an option. This has risen to the surface again due to the conflict in Ukraine. Abramovich is not alone in having questions asked of his morals when you look at the owners of Premier League football clubs, however. One of the interesting characters to follow him into the world of Premier League football club ownership was Thaksin Shinawatra. Accused of authoritarianism and corruption amongst other things while serving as Prime Minister of Thailand, after being ousted in a coup de tat in 2006 he took the natural progression to purchase Manchester city. If questions of morality were not asked enough when Abramovich purchased Chelsea, they certainly were not when the former Thai president made his purchase. Shinawatra in 2008 would later be sentenced to two years in prison for corruption and in the same year, he would sell the club to the next character Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan.
Sheikh Mansour is a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family and his purchase of the Manchester club would begin a trend of more wealthy individuals from the Arab world purchasing football clubs. This also coincided with Qatar being awarded the 2022 world cup, the first country in the region to host it. Sheikh Mansour holds a prominent position of power in a country that has according to amnesty international overseen human rights abuses such as imprisoning political opponents as well as restricting the freedoms of women and homosexuals. A UK court also found that its leader Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum had abducted and detained two of his daughters. He happens to also be Sheikh Mansour’s father-in-law.
One of the other members of royalty from the Arab world to enter into the scene is a more recent purchase. Via the Public investment fund, the Crown prince of Saudi Arabia Mohamed Bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud holds the controlling stake in Newcastle United. MBS is the seventh son of the King of Saudi Arabia and holds prominent positions within its government. According to amnesty international Saudi Arabia similarly presides over human rights abuses such as torturing prisoners and religious discrimination among many others. Though denied by the Crown Prince, MBS is also believed to have sanctioned the high profile and brutal killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
As well as money from the Arab world beginning to enter the Premier League, Chinese businesses and by extension its government have also entered into the Premier League. Both Southampton until very recently and Wolverhampton Wanderers have owners from China. Wolves owners Fosun agreed with the Chinese government to set up its first privately owned high-speed railway. Similar to Abramovich (Allegedly), Fosun seems to have favorable relations with its government. A government is currently being accused of genocide against its Uyghur population. The Chinese communist party exercises authoritarian control over its citizens and continues to erode the freedoms and sovereignty of the aspiring democracy of Hong Kong.
Murky money has been flowing into the beautiful game for years at this point, from all corners of the globe. The alleged crimes these people can be linked and associated with are heinous. If the sanctions Abramovich has now been put under put other people of his ilk off from buying football clubs in the UK, then this is a small victory. However, there is still a long way to go to clean up Premier league football.
The other reason this issue will not go away is that top football clubs as assets have become so valuable that only those with a staggering amount of wealth possess the ability to own them. To earn this much money it is likely you have had to become morally compromised to do so. Most people with the ability to own a top-end or now even middling premier league club have likely got their wealth through nefarious means. We are much more likely to see more of these characters with questionable moral compasses entering the Premier League in the coming years.
Football clubs are, as has been recognised by the British government, important aspects of the community they are situated. Fans should not be expected to walk away from these clubs due to their owners as they have existed before them and will certainly exist after them. However, if you are a fan of one of these clubs the success can be enjoyed, but a moment such as the one Chelsea fans find themselves in now, will have to be endured.
It is correct that Chelsea’s owner is sanctioned for his supposed links to the Kremlin. However, the time for a conversation about morality in English football is long gone. ‘Sports washing’ continues to be an effective means of obfuscating the true intentions and characteristics of these owners and while they are allowed to continue to do so, they will see no reason to stop.