ROMAN ABRAMOVICH HAS endured something of a tough week.
First, his Chelsea side endured a humiliating defeat at the hands of local upstarts QPR in Sunday’s West London derby.
Then, in spite of the club’s best attempts at damage limitation, captain John Terry became the subject of an FA and police inquiry into his alleged abuse of Anton Ferdinand.
Finally, as if to prove that these things do indeed come in threes, the Russian failed to secure the 75% shareholder support required to secure the freehold to Stamford Bridge at the AGM of the Chelsea Pitch Owners, the group responsible for both the playing surface and land on which the stadium is built.
The club’s representatives, chairman Bruce Buck and chief executive Ron Gourlay, spent over two hours working to assuage the fears and anxieties of shareholders at the meeting, but in the end, could only muster 61.6% of the available shares.
Speaking to Guardian after the meeting, Buck described Abramovich as “disappointed” by the ourcome of the vote.
“Obviously, we had asked them to support our proposal and only 62% have supported it, so we’re disappointed and we have to accept that it’s a setback. But we always knew that getting 75% of the vote was going to be very difficult. That’s just the nature of the vote.”
Those shareholders opposed to the club’s relocation claimed that Abramovich and his cohorts had attempted to sway the outcome of the vote by selling a large number of shares in advance of the AGM.
Tim Rolls of the Say No CPO campaign suggested this was the issue that decided the fate of the freehold.
“In the end, maybe the lack of transparency over the extra shares sold in the buildup to the EGM helped turn the vote in our favour.”
Buck, however, remains hopeful that a “tweaked” proposal could yet yield a positive outcome.
