CHELSEA fans went wild in West London after their team pulled out of the controversial proposed Super League.
The move followed an angry backlash with fans gathering at the club’s Stamford Bridge stadium to demand owner Roman Abramovich back away from the plans.
The decision to quit the Super League came came less than an hour after furious fans branded club legend Petr Cech a “traitor” in ugly clashes.
Protestors blocked the road and attempted to stop Chelsea’s team bus from pulling into the stadium, delaying kick-off until 8.15pm.
It was later announced both Chelsea and Manchester City had both pulled out of the controversial plans, amid mounting anger among fans.
And in a massive victory for fan power, all six Prem clubs have now quit with Spurs, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United following suit.
Confirming the move late last night, the Blues said having had “time to consider the matter fully and have decided that our continued participation in these plans would not be in the best interests of the Club, our supporters or the wider football community”.
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Amid the fall out, Manchester United chief Ed Woodward has also quit, although it is understood he made his decision on Monday.
Fury at the proposals has even led to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to threaten new laws to try to sink the Super League.
He branded the ESL a cartel saying its “not right” to rob British fans of their footie – saying “be in no doubt that we don’t support it”.
Supporters, pundits and footballers, including Liverpool’s James Milner, had made their feelings clear that they do not want the Super League to go ahead – with the 12 owners chasing more money.
The protests at Stamford Bridge led to technical director and former legendary goalkeeper Cech from wading into the crowd, pleading with irate fans to calm down and let the bus through.
But he was met by a deluge of cries and jeers as police formed a barrier around him, with some even calling Cech a “traitor”.
Protestors descended upon Stamford Bridge earlier in the evening waving placards criticising owner Abramovich for signing up to Florentino Perez’s brainchild, which has sent shockwaves throughout European football.
One sign called on Abramovich to ‘do the right thing’, and another mourned: “1905-2021. RIP CFC. Save The Bridge.”
The protest came after SunSport exclusively revealed Chelsea players were left concerned by the official ESL announcement on Sunday – as well as the threat of being banned from the Champions League following their semi-final achievement.
Chelsea were also forced to remove dozens of fan-owned banners from the stands as the Super League row intensified.
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Stamford Bridge’s famous Shed End was stripped bare as was the Matthew Harding Stand at the opposite end of the 41,000 capacity ground.
Irate supporters contacted Chelsea yesterday to voice their anger at plans for their club to join a group of 12 European teams in forming a breakaway league.
And one way of showing it has been to demand the taking down of the huge banners that have either hung from the top tiers or been placed on the empty seats during the Covid pandemic to show solidarity with Chelsea.
The supporters’ banners are the most notable inside the ground.
One features a portrait of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich along with the slogan ‘Roman Army’.
Another refers to a song lyric about Stamford Bridge – ‘The Only Place To Be Every Other Saturday’.
Others pay tribute to former players like ex-captain John Terry ‘Captain, Leader, Legend’ and ‘Super Frankie Lampard’.
Chelsea will be the first of the rebel ‘Big Six’ in the Premier League to host a match since the plan to form the Super League was confirmed.
Liverpool is another club involved in the controversial idea and their supporters have also asked for their banners to be taken off Anfield’s famous Kop End.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
