LONDON: The owners of the Chicago Cubs, who are bidding for Premier League club Chelsea, touted their anti-racism credentials Wednesday after a backlash in England about offensive comments by the Ricketts family patriarch.
It has been three years since Joe Ricketts apologized after online media outlet Splinter News published emails featuring him making Islamophobic comments, such as “Islam is a cult and not a religion.”
The racist comments have gained a renewed focus during the competitive bidding contest to buy Chelsea, which has been put up for sale after Russian owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the British government over his ties to President Vladimir Putin amid the war on Ukraine.
Paul Canoville, Chelsea’s first Black player, tweeted “a big fat anti racism NO to the Ricketts bid.”
The London communication firm tasked by the Ricketts with advancing the bid says Joe Ricketts is not involved in the bid, which is led by his son, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts. They have also linked up hedge fund manager Ken Griffin for the bid.
“Our family rejects any form of hate in the strongest possible terms,” the Ricketts family said in a statement. “Racism and Islamophobia have no place whatsoever in our society.
“We have developed deep and abiding partnerships with the Muslim community in Chicago, as well as with all communities of color.”
Tom Ricketts was due in London this week to discuss the bid with fans.
“Respect for diversity and inclusion are central to our family’s values,” the family statement said. “If we prevail in our bid for Chelsea, we commit to the club and to the fans that we will actively promote these values.”
There are at least seven known bidders for Chelsea and the British government has to approve a license for the buyout which cannot see Abramovich receive any proceeds from the sale.
The sale price could reach 3 billion pounds ($4 billion).
A consortium that bid features Todd Boehly, part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, and Jonathan Goldstein, a London-based property investor who is CEO of Cain International.
Michael Broughton, the former chairman of Liverpool and British Airways, is leading a consortium that includes track great Sebastian Coe, who is president of World Athletics, an IOC member and a Chelsea fan.
British property tycoon Nick Candy is behind “The Blue Football Consortium” that features proposed investment from South Korea companies including Hana Financial Group, C&P Sports Group and a third undisclosed entity.
The London-based global investment firm Centricus, which says it oversees $38 billion in assets, has also submitted a bid.
Amr Zedan, a Los Angeles-born Saudi investor, has also registered his bid with the Raine Group — the bank overseeing the sale of the reigning European and world champions.
Cubs owners denounce racism after backlash over Chelsea bid
https://arab.news/965ha
Cubs owners denounce racism after backlash over Chelsea bid
- It has been three years since Joe Ricketts apologized after he made Islamophobic comments in emails
- His comments include “Islam is a cult and not a religion”
Osimhen leads Nigeria past Algeria into AFCON semifinals
- Nigeria dominated the first half in Marrakech without scoring before getting the breakthrough within two minutes of the restart as Osimhen headed in
- The 2023 African player of the year then turned provider for the second goal just before the hour mark
MARRAKESH, Morocco: Victor Osimhen scored one goal and set up another as Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 in their Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final on Saturday to set up a last-four showdown with hosts Morocco.
Nigeria dominated the first half in Marrakech without scoring before getting the breakthrough within two minutes of the restart as Osimhen headed in.
The 2023 African player of the year then turned provider for the second goal just before the hour mark, setting up Akor Adams to put the Super Eagles out of sight.
Runners-up at the last AFCON two years ago in Ivory Coast, Nigeria came to Morocco still smarting from their failure to qualify for the upcoming World Cup but are dreaming of winning a fourth continental title here.
They were not intimidated by a Marrakech crowd of 32,452 which was almost entirely given over to the Algerian cause, but the atmosphere is likely to be far more hostile for Wednesday’s semifinal in Rabat.
Algeria had beaten Nigeria en route to winning their last Cup of Nations title in Egypt in 2019 and this has been by far their best campaign at the tournament since then.
Their large support which descended on a stadium set against the backdrop of the Atlas Mountains was full of optimism after Vladimir Petkovic’s side had impressed in the group stage and edged out the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last 16.
Yet a team featuring a formidable front three of Riyad Mahrez, Ibrahim Maza and Mohamed Amoura failed to muster a single shot in the first half and were lucky to be level at half-time.
Nigeria almost scored just before the half-hour mark, when ‘keeper Luca Zidane got nowhere near an Ademola Lookman free-kick delivery and Calvin Bassey turned the ball toward goal.
However, Ramy Bensebaini got there just in time to hook it away from the line.
- Four in four -
They then should certainly have scored in the 37th minute as Adams found himself clean through but blazed his shot over the bar.
However, Eric Chelle’s half-time team-talk clearly worked as his Nigeria side wasted no time getting their noses in front at the start of the second half.
Alex Iwobi found Bruno Onyemaechi on the left and his deep cross to the back post was headed low into the net by Osimhen for the opener.
The masked Galatasaray striker had gone seven Cup of Nations matches without finding the net before scoring against Tunisia in the group stage. He now has four in his last four matches.
Nigeria are also the tournament’s top scorers overall with 14 goals in total after Adams made it 2-0 — Osimhen was released in behind and unselfishly squared for the Sevilla striker to round Zidane and finish for his second goal in as many games.
Adams could have had another as he headed off the post when Osimhen held the ball up for him from the line, while Algeria never really looked coming back.
Tensions spilled over between the teams on the pitch at full-time, but it is next stop Rabat for the Super Eagles.
