Thomas Tuchel insists the announcement from Roman Abramovich that he will hand over the “stewardship and care” of Chelsea to the trustees of the club’s charitable foundation will have no impact on his role as manager.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Abramovich released a short statement on the eve of the Carabao Cup final indicating he was stepping back from ownership of a club he bought in 2003 and has since loaned around £1.5bn, although legal experts have suggested it meant little.
Chelsea’s foundation trustees include Piara Powar, head of Football Against Racism in Europe, Chelsea women’s manager Emma Hayes and British Olympic Association chair Sir Hugh Robertson. It is chaired by Bruce Buck, who is also chairman of the club.
It emerged on Sunday, however, that not all trustees had agreed to take over control of Chelsea and talks were expected in the next few days.
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“I think it will change nothing for me on a daily basis, this is how I understand it,” Tuchel said after Chelsea lost on penalties to Liverpool. “I’m in close contact with [Chelsea director] Marina Granovskaia and [technical director] Petr Cech to run the club and give my input and take care of this. This will not change and I think it will not change with the news from [Saturday night].”
Labour MP Chris Bryant claimed in parliament that the Home Office has previously identified Abramovich of having links to the Russian state and has repeatedly called for the oligarch to face sanctions, which could have huge implications for Chelsea.
Abramovich faced fierce criticism for his failure to condemn president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in his statement. And with major events overshadowing the final for Chelsea they lost on penalties following a goalless draw in 90 minutes and extra time.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp stuck with 23-year-old Caoimhin Kelleher, who played in previous EFL Cup rounds, in goal and the Irishman was the hero, scoring the winning penalty after all outfield players had scored.
“Even in professional football there should be space for some sentiment,” Klopp said. “Caoimhin Kelleher is a young boy, plays in all the competition, what do I do? I am two things, a professional manager and a human being and the human being won. He deserves it.”
Kelleher said: “It’s a mad one. I got close to a few when it came down to me I didn’t even think I had scored the winning penalty. I’d forgotten I’d got the winning one. All the lads were class, I was just happy to score.
“It was more hit and hope. I got close to a few but all the penalties were very high quality, thankfully we were able to win.”
Tuchel, meanwhile, opted to drop his main EFL Cup goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga, for first-choice Edouard Mendy. Mendy played phenomenally for the entire match but was substituted in the final minutes for Kepa’s expertise in the shootout.
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But Tuchel insisted all blame lay on himself after Kepa failed to save 11 penalties and then skied his effort over the crossbar.
“I feel bad for him of course, but no blame,” Tuchel said. “We took the decision like we did last time in a penalty shootout because Kepa is training with the players on a daily basis with penalties. Everyone knows how good he is. It plays a huge part in how good we shot today. The penalties were brilliantly taken. It was a bit harsh he was the guy to miss the only penalty but there’s no blame.
“I take the decision when I take them. I cannot rejudge my decision when I know the outcome. We don’t know what happened if we left Edou on the pitch. Blame on me, I’m the guy who makes the decisions.”
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