The head coach of the Chelsea football club in the Chelsea neighborhood of London pleaded with members of the press Tuesday to stop asking him questions about the club’s owner or the war in Ukraine.
Thomas Tuchel, a former professional football player who has made a name for himself as a coach, held the press conference to talk about an upcoming match on Wednesday; however, questions kept circling back to Ukraine, causing Tuchel to snap at the reporters.
“You have to stop, honestly. I can only repeat it, and I even feel bad to repeat it because I’ve never experienced war,” Tuchel said in a press conference. “So even to talk about it, I feel bad because I’m very privileged — I sit here in peace. I do the best I can, but you have to stop asking me these questions because I have no answers for you.”
MORE THAN 140 DIPLOMATS WALK OUT OF UN DURING RUSSIAN DEFENSE OF UKRAINE INVASION
The conference also came just days after owner Roman Abramovich, a Russian billionaire, released a statement that he would give ownership of the club to the club’s charity’s trustees. The foundation has not accepted the ownership but is looking into English charity law, according to Sky Sports.
Tuchel said he and the players are focused on winning the next game and are attempting to remain focused on upcoming matches, despite the tension surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine as the attack stretches into its sixth day.
“It’s horrible. It’s horrible,” Tuchel said about the war. “We know there are more important things out there. This will never change. … Everyone in Europe has noise in their head that nobody likes. Still, you try to come to work and try to do the best in your job as possible.”
Tuchel, a former professional football player who played defense, has been the coach of Chelsea since 2021; however, he has coached several teams before Chelsea, including Paris Saint-Germain and Augsburg II.
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Chelsea’s next match against Luton Town is part of the fifth round in the Football Association’s Challenge Cup. Chelsea’s final match of the season is slated for May 22.
