Chelsea Owner Roman Abramovich gets apology over Putin claims

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has received an apology over defamatory allegations.

HarperCollins had claimed in one of their books that the billionaire purchased West London club Chelsea following the orders of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The book Putin’s People which was written by UK Journalist Catherine Belton has been amended with apologies given to Mr. Abramovich on Wednesday by the company having reached a settlement.

Russian billionaire Sergei Pugachev made allegations that Abramovich bought Chelsea on Putin’s orders back in 2003 and his claims were printed in the pages of the book ‘Putin’s People’ last year.

In a statement, the publisher said the book ‘contained some inaccurate information’ about Mr. Abramovich.

“While the book always included a denial that Mr Abramovich was acting under anybody’s direction when he purchased Chelsea, the new edition will include a more detailed explanation of Mr Abramovich’s motivations for buying the club,” read the statement.

“HarperCollins and the author apologise that these aspects of the book were not as clear as they would have liked them to have been and are happy to have now clarified the text,” it added.

A spokesman for Mr Abramovich said they were “pleased” at the settlement, and added that the allegations “lacked evidence and were indeed false”.

“In contrast to events relayed in the book, Mr Abramovich’s ambition with Chelsea Football Club has always been clear and transparent: to create world-class teams on the pitch and to ensure the club plays a positive role in all of its communities.”

HarperCollins have however pointed out that in its judgment, the court was not “determining whether allegations made in the book about the claimant or anyone else are true”.

It also didn’t fail to add that it is committed to publishing investigative work and defending free speech and Ms Belton’s book was “highly regarded and critically acclaimed”.

Since Mr Abramovich’s takeover of the club, Chelsea have risen to prominence and dining with the world heavyweights, having won the Premier League and the FA Cup five times each, as well as twice winning the UEFA Champions League, most recently last year when the team defeated Manchester City. They are on course to land a Club World cup trophy, one which had eluded them for a while.