Roman Abramovich and Marina Granovskaia back Romelu Lukaku punishment over Chelsea tantrum
Chelsea v Liverpool pictures
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Thomas Tuchel’s decision to punish Romelu Lukaku has been backed by the Chelsea hierarchy as Roman Abramovich and Marina Granovskaia have sided with the Blues boss, who left the Belgian out of their crucial clash against Liverpool on Sunday.
Romelu Lukaku was left out of Chelsea’s crucial match against Liverpool on Sunday following a telling interview conducted with Sky Italia, where he called out Thomas Tuchel’s tactics.
The Belgian also expressed his desire to one day return to Italy, and admitted that he wouldn’t have left Inter Milan if they had offered him the right deal.
Lukaku’s comments have come as a major shock seeing as the striker only made his return to Stamford Bridge this summer, but Tuchel wasn’t having any of it as he left his out of the squad despite what was at stake.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has a colourful history of falling out with his managers, but the Russian has expressed his backing for Tuchel’s decision, along with director Marina Granovskaia.
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Tuchel was left with a difficult decision ahead of their major clash with Premier League rivals Liverpool, but ended up leaving out Lukaku all together as ‘too much noise’ was made too close to a big game.
Chelsea fought back from 2-0 down to earn a point at Stamford Bridge as the spoils were shared, and fans were left thinking how the match may have ended if Lukaku was on the field.
However, this was not in the mind of Abramovich and Granovskaia, who have supported Tuchel’s stance according to the Daily Mail, who claimed that the pair will likely back any disciplinary action the club take.
The issue doesn’t end there though, as even Lukaku’s teammates feel that the Belgian’s actions should not go unpunished by the club even though he is a popular figure in the dressing room, according to Sportsmail.
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Both Tuchel and Lukaku held ‘clear the air talks’ on Monday to discuss the matter, and it has been understood that Lukaku never had the intention of causing such a controversy at Chelsea but instead wanted to rekindle his fractured relationship with the Inter supporters.
The Inter fans were furious with Lukaku for leaving the club, even though it’s believed that the Belgian had to be sold in order to raise much needed funds in an economic crisis.
Despite Lukaku’s apparent intentions, he has risked damaging his image with both sets of fans, angering the Inter faithful that fell out of love with him over the summer, and the Chelsea supporters that welcomed him back with open arms.
Chelsea have not formerly commented on the official outcome of Monday’s meeting, but there is a clear feeling that Lukaku’s admission of regret may allow all parties to move forward from the incident.
If this is the case, it puts Lukaku back in contention for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final with Tottenham, where Antonio Conte and the Belgian will reunite for the first time since the summer.
It will also be a reunion for Conte in itself, with the Tottenham boss formerly winning the Premier League with Chelsea before being sacked by the club after a poor start the following season.
Lukaku’s scene had got so bad that some reports even started to link the Belgian with a move away, but Fabrizio Romano revealed that Chelsea have no intention of letting their star leave in January.
Therefore, it’s time for Lukaku to buckle down once more and focus on helping Chelsea this season, who still have a Champions League crown to defend, as well as aiming to catch Manchester City in the Premier League.
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