AVB was terminated, we then won two trophies… you should congratulate Mr Abramovich for that, says Chelsea chief Buck (who also claims they would have been crucified if they didn't report Clattenburg)
Buck: 'We're the club most in the public eye anywhere in the world'Club stands by claim that Clattenburg used term 'monkey''There have been a lot of incidents involving Terry and Chelsea'Terry does NOT run the club, Abramovich does, claims BuckClub officials admit Chelsea’s image has been damaged
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UPDATED:
13:11 GMT, 13 November 2012
Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck has launched an impassioned defence of the club's players in the aftermath of the race-row storm which has engulfed Stamford Bridge following allegations referee Mark Clattenburg racially abused John Obi Mikel.
Buck says Chelsea agonised over the decision but, ultimately, were legally obliged to report Clattenburg in defence of Mikel and fellow midfielder Ramires, who made the initial allegation.
The Blues chief has also backed club owner Roman Abramovich's decision to 'terminate' the tenure of former boss Andre Villas-Boas in a bid to halt the club's side down the Barclays Premier League and save their Champions League aspirations.
Wise move: Chelsea fans should cheer Abramovich for his decision to sack Villas-Boas
Chelsea last week submitted a dossier
of evidence to the FA, including signed witness statements from players,
alleging Clattenburg used a term understood to have been interpreted as
racist during the 3-2 defeat by Manchester United. Clattenburg denies
the claims.
Buck, however,
cannot understand why Chelsea have come under fire for reporting the
Durham official and believes the club have rightly taken the moral high ground.
Buck, in a sensational interview with the Evening Standard said: 'The reaction has been very unfair,'
he says. 'We weren't interested in any confrontation with the referee or
anybody else, had no thoughts of revenge on the referee. He made two
obvious mistakes (sending Fernando Torres off and allowing Javier
Hernandez's offside winner) which changed the tide.
'I felt we had the moral high ground,
so I didn’t really feel that bad about the defeat or have that feeling
in my stomach. I thought we'd be treated very kindly in the newspapers
next day.
'It was made after a great deal of anguish and after talking long and hard that evening about what should we do.'
Buck believes the club were forced into a corner and once the two players involved came forward, they had no option but to make the report.
And the American-trained lawyer stands by the claim that Clattenburg used the term 'monkey'.
'We were guided by obligations that are imposed by the Football Association and also as an employer. FA rule E14 basically says a participant shall immediately report to the association any incident or matter which may be considered to be a misconduct.
'Misconduct is a defined term under the FA regulations and includes such racial behaviour. We also had to consider the Equality Act 2010, which imposes an obligation on an employer to take certain actions if an employee is subject to discrimination by third parties.
Suppose we had tried to sweep this under the rug and said to the various players, “Look, it's not a big deal and the press are going to be all over us, maybe you want to reconsider”. If that had leaked out, we would've really been crucified.'
Flashpoint: Mikel and Ramires made allegations about referee Clattenburg
GOURLAY: 'RACE ROWS HAVE BEEN BULLET PRINTS IN OUR ARMOUR'
Chelsea’s chief executive Ron Gourlay (right) has described the race rows that have blighted the club over the last 12 months as ‘bullet prints in our armour’ and charged the younger players at Stamford Bridge to repair Chelsea’s damaged image.
The Champions League winners have struggled to win friends during public disputes fueled by racism allegations, while talismanic captain John Terry and big-spending owner Roman Abramovich have long been polarizing personalities in English football.
‘There are things that have happened that damaged the image,’ Gourlay said, acknowledging that Chelsea has been under fire since Terry’s court case and, more recently, reporting referee Mark Clattenburg for alleged racist abuse. ‘There are bullet prints in our armor. We have learned from the mistakes we have made. Hopefully the football club is in a good position to push forward now.’
He believes the widely admired talent of Juan Mata, Eden Hazard and Oscar is shifting people’s perception.
‘That’s where we want to be,’ Gourlay added. ‘I think people like the way they are seeing Chelsea play football now, and that’s very important because it portrays itself as the image of the club.
‘We are in a very, very strong place,’ the chief executive said on the sidelines of the Chelsea-backed International Football Arena conference in Zurich.
Buck spoke with Chelsea chief
executive Ron Gourlay and headed into the team's dressing room after the
match with united at 6.15pm.
And he says he was careful to rule out any
misunderstanding from the players involved – as neither uses English as
their first language. Buck was reassured both players spoke good
English.
He said: 'I spoke to the players involved, either because they were allegedly the recipient of that abuse or had heard it, three separate times.
'I asked them if they could be mistaken. I asked them, if they might have heard Mikel instead of monkey. I thought I had covered that base.'
The revolving-door policy operated by Blues' owner Roman Abramovich saw Andre Villas-Boas ditched two-thirds of the way through last season.
The decision came just nine months after they had paid Porto 13million for his services.
AVB failed to convince senior members
of the squad, like John Terry and Frank Lampard that he was the man to
lead the club forward.
But Buck denies that Terry runs the club, or that player power is too strong at Stamford Bridge.
In
fact it was Abramovich's 'termination' of the Portuguese which led
Chelsea directly to their ultimate goal; Champions League glory.
'It didn’t take the players to tell
us we were not going in the right direction. I knew that, Mr Abramovich
knew that.
'When Andre left, we were in a very difficult situation about
to be bounced out of the Champions League, doing very poorly in the
Premier League.
'The proof is in the pudding: Andre
was terminated and we wound up winning two trophies. I want to hear you
congratulate Mr Abramovich and Chelsea for making that change.'
Dogged
by controversy: Terry race row with Ferdinand came nine years after he
was cleared he was cleared of attacking a nightclub doorman (below)
Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck
Read the full Evening Standard interview here
One thing Buck didn't deny was the
negative impact of the Terry race-row which has dogged the club over the
last 12 months – just the latest in the line of discretions from the
club's captain down the years.
'I can't argue with the fact that,
over the last 10 years, there have been a lot of public incidents in
which Terry and Chelsea were involved. But I don’t accept that we have
something in our hearts that says we’re going to chase the referees.
'It’s just not like that at all,
honest. Chelsea are not run by John Terry. I don’t know how I can prove
it to you but it’s not true. My club are run by Roman Abramovich.'Life
in west london changed dramatically the moment the Russian billionaire
arrived.
In stark contrast to ken Bates' loud
and brash style, Abramovih remains in the margins, allowing his staff to
speak on behalf of the club.
Bright future: Chelsea's young players can help repair the club's damaged image
But Buck denies the claim this proves
Abramovich is aloof and hopes the club are moving down the right track
to preserve their position in Europe's elite.
He said: 'It's not true that Mr Abramovich
does not care what people think about Chelsea. Rightly or wrongly, Mr
Abramovich changed English football forever. I feel very strongly that
he hasn't had enough credit for what he's done. Chelsea's heart is
definitely not black.
'We have to continue to try to be a
good citizen and to do things for our community, country and players and
play good football.'
In the line of fire: Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay (left) and chairman Bruce Buck at a Chelsea game
