After the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich left the English football club Chelsea, a Swiss billionaire expressed an interest in the club. “I received an offer with three other people on Tuesday to buy Chelsea from Abramovich,” Hansjörg Wyss told the Schweizer Zeitung view. The newspaper wrote on Wednesday that it is not yet certain whether he will buy it. “I now have to wait four to five days. Abramovich is currently asking far too much,” the Wyss newspaper quoted. “I can well imagine joining Chelsea with partners,” Wyss continued. “I’m definitely not going to do something like this alone. If I buy Chelsea, it’ll be with a consortium of six to seven investors.”
Wyss (86) is one of the richest men in the world. The US magazine Forbes currently estimates his net worth at $5.1 billion. He has lived in the USA for decades. There he managed a company for medical technology, which he sold in 2012 to the US company Johnson & Johnson for a profit of billions. It promotes and finances numerous educational institutions and environmental protection projects.
Abramovich announced on Saturday that he wanted to hand over the administration of the English Champions League winners Chelsea to the administrators of the football club’s charitable foundation. The oligarch had previously come under increasing criticism for his closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Demands for sanctions against the Chelsea owner grew louder. In London they fear you Times-According to reports, Abramovich can sell his assets in the UK before sanctions can harm him. Labor MP Chris Bryant, for example, warned in Parliament this week that the oligarch would sell his properties in London.
Ukrainian biathlon world champion in military service
Former Ukrainian World Champion Dmytro Pidruchnyi has sparked reactions from across the biathlon world with an emotional post about his wartime service. “I am grateful to everyone who writes to me and worries about my family and to those who support and help Ukraine,” the 30-year-old wrote on Instagram. He showed himself in a photo in a military uniform with a helmet: “I am currently in my hometown of Ternopil and serve in the National Guard of Ukraine. This photo was taken during the air raid.”
Just two weeks ago, his country’s best ski hunter started at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, his federation announced that no Ukrainian would compete in the remaining three World Cup events. According to media reports, other biathletes are also fighting at the front, including Julia Dschima, the best woman who won Olympic gold with the Ukraine relay in Sochi in 2014.
“Stay strong,” replied former German world champion Benedikt Doll to Pidrutschnji’s post on the social network. “We are all with you,” Italy’s Thomas Bormolini replied. Norwegian Olympic champion Tiril Eckhoff wrote: “Take care and stay strong.” In addition, many sporting rivals left hearts in the Ukrainian national colors of yellow and blue. Pidruchnyi is the strongest Ukrainian this season as 34th in the overall World Cup. Three years ago he won the world title in pursuit in Sweden.
Biathlon Union excludes Russians and Belarusians
Russian and Belarusian athletes are not allowed to compete in the Biathlon World Cup until further notice. The IBU announced the Executive Board’s decision on Wednesday morning, in response to a recommendation by the International Olympic Committee. In addition, at the latest at the regular board meeting on March 17, a possible suspension of the IBU membership of the two national federations should be discussed. The Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) was downgraded to provisional membership in 2017 due to its extensive doping history. This means that no events will take place or are planned in Russia until 2026 anyway and no RBU representative will hold an official position in the IBU.
The IBU thus tightened its measures after it had been decided the previous week that biathletes from Russia and Belarus should have been allowed to compete at least under a neutral flag at the remaining three World Cups this winter. In response to this, the Russian and Belarusian teams had already declared that under these circumstances they no longer wanted to start at the remaining stations in Finland, Estonia and Norway this winter. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they shouldn’t have been allowed to enter Estonia anyway.
