Chelsea
manager Thomas Tuchel criticised the club’s travelling supporters for a chant
dedicated to Russian owner Roman Abramovich ahead of Saturday’s 4-0 win at
Burnley. A large section of Chelsea supporters sang about the departing oligarch,
interrupting a moment of applause for Ukraine before kick-off.

“Listen, if
we show solidarity, we show solidarity and we should do it together,” Tuchel
said in his post-match comments.

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“We take the knee together. If an important
person from another club or from our club unfortunately dies, we show a minute
of respect. It’s not the moment to give other messages. It’s a moment to show
respect.”

The gesture
was met with boos from the home supporters as it interrupted a planned minute
of applause to show solidarity for Ukraine amid the country’s invasion by
Russia.

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“We want
that we do this because this is what we are as a club. We show respect as a
club and we need our fans to commit to this minute of applause in the moment.
We do it for Ukraine. There is no second opinion about the situation there and
that they have our thoughts and our support, and we should stand together as a
club,” Tuchel added.

Abramovich on
Wednesday announced his intention to sell the West London club that he acquired
in 2003, with all proceeds from the sale to be directed to a charity dedicated to
help victims of the war in Ukraine.

In the 19
years under his ownership, Abramovich has overseen the club’s transformation into
a domestic and European heavyweight, with Chelsea winning two Champions League
and five Premier League titles among other honours in that period.

The announcement
was one of the highlights of a turbulent week for the Blues, who lost to Liverpool
on penalties in the Carabao Cup final before being knocked out of the FA Cup by
Luton Town.

Saturday’s
4-0 win over Burnley came as a much-needed relief for the club and Tuchel, who
hailed his players mindset to bounce back from adversary. “It shows a lot of
character, Tuchel said.

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“It shows
the guys have what it takes to play for Chelsea and we have the environment to
focus on football, because we are allowed to focus on football. The team did
very well and we kept on believing.”