Chelsea’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich was in the news this week after it was reported that he had been suffering from symptoms of suspected poisoning after taking part in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. He and at least two senior Ukrainian delegates are understood to have experienced irritated eyes and peeling skin after meeting in Kyiv at the start of March.
According to the Mirror, investigators failed to pinpoint what caused the symptoms, but they mirror those caused by certain poisons.
This has brought back into light a report by the Sunday People in 2006, which stated that the shady Chelsea owner was terrified that he could fall victim to a poisoning event.
This report from 2006 came out one month after former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned at a sushi restaurant in London. Which is likely to have triggered Abramovich’s fears that he could be a target should another event like this take place.
After three years in charge of the London club, the Chelsea owner began by banning outside catering at the boardroom of the West London club and ensured everything prepared for him was tested by a bodyguard. Further, Abramovich refused to eat anything unless it was made for him by his personal chef, who accompanied him everywhere, including to away games across the United Kingdom and further afield.
This is an extreme set of circumstances for an owner of a football to have to live with and will encourage those who are looking for a change further when it comes to doing background checks on people trying to buy Premier League clubs.
Abramovich spent over 15 years trying the avoid what recently happened to him but it seems he simply could not outrun his fear. The Russian’s ownership is set to come to an end soon, as he spends his days currently travelling across Eastern Europe for peace talks.
Although there are still a few shady owners left in the Premier League, the organisation needs to put proper measures in place to make situations like this do not happen again.