February 3 – The British government is coming under even more pressure to ban two English top-flight clubs from official projects promoting Britain overseas because of their links to Russian billionaire oligarchs.
The move comes following the detention of Russia’s opposition leader Alexei Navalny that has caused outcry among western democracies.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich (pictured) and Alisher Usmanov, who has ties with Everton, were named by Navalny as being on a list of those who should be targeted by Western governments in a bid to curb human-rights abuses by the regime of Vladimir Putin.
Last month the government was challenged by a group of lawmakers to impose sanctions.
And now a group of 24 from six different parties have signed a letter sent to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab asking him to ensure neither club fronts or participates in any government trade missions.
Written by the Liberal Democrats’ foreign affairs spokesperson Layla Moran, and seen by the BBC, it says such work is “undermined” if such clubs are involved.
Navalny has been detained since 17 January, after returning to Moscow for the first time since he was poisoned last year. He has blamed the nerve agent attack that almost killed him on Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin denies involvement.
“Strong words are one thing, but action is what’s needed now” says the letter to Raab, urging him to “rapidly consider and implement further sanctions”.
“Football and our football clubs are part of Britain’s brand. They help us promote our interests and our values overseas. That work is undermined if we allow clubs with close links to the Russian state to be involved in those efforts. Britain’s soft power is weaker because of it.”
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