The British government yesterday announced that it had given the green light to US businessman Todd Boehly’s proposed takeover of Chelsea soccer club from sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
British Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries said she had issued a license permitting the deal late on Tuesday, shortly after gaining approval from the English Premier League.
“We are satisfied the proceeds of the sale will not benefit Roman Abramovich or other sanctioned individuals,” Dorries wrote on Twitter.
Photo: AP
“Given the sanctions we placed on those linked to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and the bloody invasion of Ukraine, the long-term future of the club can only be secured under a new owner,” she said.
A consortium led by Boehly, a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, had already agreed a record £4.25 billion (US$5.3 billion) deal to buy the Premier League club from Abramovich on May 7.
The league said its approval hinged on the government sale license “and the satisfactory completion of the final stages of the transaction.”
Officials wanted everything completed on Tuesday so that Chelsea could meet all registration deadlines for next season’s competitions.
Abramovich put Chelsea on the market in early March, just before he was sanctioned by Britain following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Completing the purchase has been a lengthy process due to government concerns over the potential for Abramovich to profit from the sale.
The total value of the deal smashes the previous record for the sale of a sports team — US$2.4 billion for the New York Mets baseball franchise in 2020.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB