Celebrities’ charity soccer game moved from ‘tainted’ Chelsea pitch
BOSSES of celebrity charity Soccer Aid have been forced to abandon Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium as the venue for this year’s event following objections from star players.
The Mail on Sunday can reveal that organisers have had to switch this year’s match to West Ham’s London Stadium.
Sources say that some of the biggest stars who regularly take part in the event made it clear they would pull out if it was staged at Chelsea – due to club owner Roman Abramovich’s links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The game – screened on ITV and hosted last year by Alex Scott and Dermot O’Leary – typically features former England stars such as Wayne Rooney, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher, as well as celebrities including Usain Bolt, Olly Murs and Line of Duty actor Martin Compston.
Last year, Harry Redknapp and former England manager Sven
Goran Eriksson coached the teams for the game which pulled in four million TV viewers and raised £13million for children’s charity Unicef UK.
But as well as stars objecting to playing at Chelsea, Soccer Aid organisers confirmed that with government sanctions imposed on the Premier League club following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it would now be extremely difficult to use the stadium anyway.
The event was last played at Chelsea in 2019, before moving to Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground in 2020 and Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium last year. A source said: ‘It was very much going to be played at Chelsea. That was the plan but then the war happened.
‘Some key players made their feelings clear that they didn’t want any involvement with Chelsea out of protest. There were some very angry people. It was a case of if it happened there, they would not be there.
‘Of course there are sanctions now in place that mean Chelsea can’t do any business, so the event couldn’t happen there. It would be impossible for that reason.’
An announcement about the new plans is expected when tickets go on sale later this week.
Created by singer Robbie Williams and his friend Jonathan Wilkes in 2006, Soccer Aid is the world’s biggest celebrity football match. When it launched, it was presented by Newcastle United fans Ant and Dec before O’Leary
‘Key players made clear they would not be there’
took over as main host in 2010. Initially held every two years, Soccer Aid has been an annual event since 2018 and has raised in total £38 million.
Former footballers who have taken part include Paul Gascoigne, Bryan Robson, Diego Maradona, Paul Ince and David Seaman. The rollcall of celebrities includes Gordon Ramsay, John Bishop, Damian
Lewis, Jack Whitehall and Woody Harrelson. The role of former Take That star Williams in setting up Soccer Aid and his ‘contribution to the entertainments industry’ is understood to have led to him being nominated for an OBE. But it was reported that the gong was blocked because he had used a controversial investment scheme, putting him at odds with the taxman.