“We shouldn’t pretend that this isn’t the case,” the German admitted BBC“This situation is dire for everyone at Cobham (Chelsea training centre, ed.). Nobody saw this coming and it felt unreal. That overshadows our enthusiasm going into the final.”

“It also creates a lot of uncertainty, but certainly a lot more for all the people and families who are actually involved in the war than it is for us. We are with them in our minds, their situation is much more important,” continued Tuchel. “There is also a lot of uncertainty around Chelsea given the current situation in England. It is difficult to comment meaningfully at this stage.”

“We know what is going on, but we have no further knowledge of the situation,” added Tuchel. “I think it’s also the right of the team not to be constantly involved in politics, but to concentrate on sport.”

Chelsea under Abramovich

Abramovich has owned Chelsea since 2003 and his investments are responsible for nearly every major trophy the club has won. The billionaire is also one of the most influential wealthy people around Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Something Abramovich himself denies.

Sofia Abramovich, her daughter, gave the impression on Instagram on Friday that her father was not behind the war either. After all, he expressed himself as an opponent. “Putin, not Russia, wants this war. The biggest and most successful lie of Kremlin propaganda is that most Russians are behind Putin,” he said.