Last Saturday, as Burnley staged a minute’s applause for Ukraine, Chelsea fans chanted the name of their departing Russian owner, Roman Abramovich. For the previous 10 days, the news and social media had been flooded with images of the most horrendous suffering from Ukraine, of shattered apartment blocks, bloodied bodies and trains of refugees. But that was not enough: Their own identity mattered more than offering even a minute of empathy to a stricken nation.
This is not a complicated war. There is a clear aggressor. And yet some base instinct kicked in. The owner of Chelsea, the man who has bought them two Champions League titles, five Premier League trophies, five FA Cups and three League Cups, is a Russian oligarch.