SUPPORTERS VENT ANGER AS RICKETTS FAMILY EYE OWNERSHIP

TWO hours before kick-off against Brentford and there were about 100 Chelsea supporters assembling outside Stamford Bridge to protest against the Ricketts Family as potential future owners of the club.

They sang songs and raised aloft handmade cardboard signs citing opposition to the bid, mostly on the grounds of racist and homophobic remarks attributed to members of the family, owners of the Chicago Cubs baseball team.

Earlier in the day, the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust (CST) had issued results of a snap-survey, which they claimed shows the bulk of its membership has no confidence in the Ricketts Family, one of four groups still competing to buy the club for £2.5billion.

‘We asked our membership whether, based on information in the public domain as of April 1, they had confidence that the Ricketts family would run an inclusive and successful club, and we asked whether they supported the Ricketts family’s bid,’ said a CST statement.

‘Our members have given a clear message in this regard. Seventy two per cent of those who responded do not currently have confidence that the Ricketts family would run an inclusive and successful club, with five per cent of respondents believing they would.

‘Similarly, 77 per cent of members who responded do not support the Ricketts family’s bid for Chelsea FC and three per cent of respondents are in support.’

Tom and Todd Ricketts are expected in London during the week ahead, possibly with their sister Laura, for the next stage of the bidding process and in an attempt to assuage some of the concerns.

The family has already met with the CST and with Paul Canoville, Chelsea’s first black player and an influential figure among sections of the fanbase, who also voiced his concerns about the Ricketts bid before altering his stance.

Tom Ricketts responded to the latest protests with another statement.

‘Over the past fortnight, our bid team has met with several supporter groups to explain our vision for Chelsea Football Club,’ it said. ‘In those meetings, and by letter to all groups, we have shared a set of specific commitments we will make to fans, if our bid is successful.

‘We believe these are farreaching and certainly include an absolute commitment on the part of the Ricketts Family and the bid team to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of the club.’