John Terry has reaffirmed his support for Roman Abramovich and retaliated at Chris Bryant, who demanded that he remove his ‘appalling’ tribute to the Chelsea owner.
On Tuesday, the former Chelsea captain praised Abramovich as “the finest” after it was revealed that the billionaire oligarch had put the club up for sale in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
With the number of people killed in the deadly conflict rapidly increasing, there have been calls for Abrahmovich’s assets to be taken by the UK government.
Abrahmovich is alleged to have had close links with Vladimir Putin in the past.
In a statement released on Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the problem, emphasizing that the ‘proper procedure’ must be followed methodically before the government can impose sanctions on people like Abramovich.
As many as 10 potential buyers have arisen in the days since Abramovich’s declaration, and Turkish investor Muhsin Bayrak is the latest to stoke speculation about a possible takeover attempt at Stamford Bridge.
The football community has reacted differently to Abramovich’s impending exit, with ex-Chelsea winger Pat Nevin advising fans to ‘throw away the violins’ and instead focus on the situation in Ukraine.
Terry, on the other hand, had no qualms about expressing his support for Chelsea’s long-time owner, and as a result, he received a strong criticism from some, with British politician Bryant responding on Twitter:
‘This is awful.’
‘I think John Terry you should take this down ASAP,’ Bryant wrote in a subsequent tweet.
While you celebrate Abramovich, the people of Ukraine are bombed, shelled, and murdered.’
Terry had stayed tight-lipped while the scandal reached front and back pages in the British news, but the ex-England defender retaliated in an angry tweet on Saturday morning, bringing up Bryant’s tumultuous voting record.
It all started with a tweet from Twitter user @bodigwe72, who wrote:
‘I’m not sure whether the British MP’s desire for John Terry to delete his Chelsea history makes sense to anyone.’
No one can erase Roman Abramovich’s legacy as the owner of Chelsea Football Club. With affection, we salute the great ROMAN.’
Terry answered, ‘100% mate [love heart emoji].’
‘The same MP who claimed a fortune in taxpayer-funded expenses.’ The same MP who voted for the invasion of Iraq [clown emoji].’
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Bryant stated earlier this week that Abramovich was ‘terrified’ of being sanctioned and that this was why he started selling real estate.
On Tuesday, Bryant urged his colleagues MPs in the House of Commons, “I think we need to stand united, end of.”
‘However, the government has stated that it wishes to sanction members of the Duma and the Russian Federation Council, which is correct, but it has not yet been able to do so.
‘Alisher Usmanov has already been sanctioned by the EU, but not by the UK, but I expect he’ll be on a UK list soon, and Everton should cut connections with him immediately.
‘I think Roman Abramovich is afraid of getting sanctioned, which is why he’s already planning to sell his property tomorrow, as well as another unit.’