Jamie Carragher has criticised the comments made by Chelsea as well as Roman Abramovich regarding the owner's transfer of the control of the club in which they claim to have "let themselves down badly".
Abramovich announced on Saturday that he would be handing over "stewardship and care" of Chelsea to the foundation that runs the club's charity following the Russian attack on Ukraine. The six trustees of the foundation have yet to decide on how to manage the Chelsea club.
The first statement of 110 words by Abramovich did not refer to Russia or Ukraine this stance was greeted with heavy criticism. However, Chelsea released a statement 14 hours after the Sunday dawn, declaring: "The situation in Ukraine is horrific and devastating. Chelsea FC's thoughts are with everyone in Ukraine. Everyone at the club is praying for peace."
Talking to Sky Sports prior to the Carabao Cup final at Wembley, Tuchel was asked if the statement was in line with Abramovich's opinion and replied: "Absolutely it includes him and this reflects my opinion like everyone else's opinion in the club."
However, Carragher has criticised Chelsea's handling and said "they've embarrassed themselves."
"I believe they haven't done it very well. In the two statements they've released. I believe it's been very poor which is why they've let them down horribly.
"The club came out today and put a statement out, but I think it was almost trying to rectify what Roman Abramovich had put out the night before. I don't think they did that well either. It's not worked out well for them at all, I think they've embarrassed themselves."
Carragher added that the transfer of care and stewardship does not go far enough in terms of handing over ownership. Carragher also believes that the club could be more firm in their decision-making from the beginning.
"They ought to be a lot more firm in their comments about Roman Abramovich passing on to Chelsea trustees, this isn't his surrendering the club, the term "stewardship" isn't ownership.
"It's completely different because he's still in charge, he's still running it, which is fine. But to not actually mention in his initial statement what was going on in Ukraine, I thought was really poor."
Neville He has more questions than answers
Another Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville called the statement of Abramovich "meaningless", saying: "It isn't a strong argument behind it. The only question we're looking for Roman Abramovich to answer, should he decide to make a statement, is: does oppose the war, or does he back the war in Ukraine Does he support Ukraine's war?
"I was surprised at Roman Abramovich, one of things he's done well over that 20 years or so is not say anything. At the time when he has said something I think it's left more questions than answers."
Neville said: "I would have preferred Roman Abramovich to come out and say , 'I'm Russian and I'm a Russian national, and I am the owner of Chelsea Football Club and I will continue to be the owner of Chelsea Football club'.
"Chelsea charity trustees are not running the football club - executives and directors will [be] under the guidance of Roman Abramovich. So I don't know why he thought, or those close to him thought it was going to wash. What he has done is try to use the charity as a shield, which I don't think is impressive as a leader."
Abramovich is still Chelsea's owner. the Russian billionaire who has invested more than PS1billion in the Stamford Bridge club since purchasing the club in 2003, is not asking Chelsea to pay back the loans that it owes which means that the future of the club is secure.
It is also believed that Abramovich insists that Chelsea isn't for sale, even though there are concerns about his future with the club.
If Abramovich will ever take on an active and visible position at the club is likely to depend heavily on whether he is facing any punishments by the UK government and what transpires in Ukraine and how the relationship between the UK and Russia evolves.
There have been claims by lawmakers this week that Abramovich shouldn't be permitted to control Chelsea because of his connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin's government.
In the wake of Russian troops crossed across the border into Ukraine this week, Labour MP Chris Bryant spoke to members of the House of Commons that the billionaire's assets should be confiscated and asked if it was appropriate for him to manage a football team by himself, and cited an unpublished government document that suggested the billionaire should not be permitted to establish a base on the UK.
What have Abramovich made of it?
In a rare interview with Abramovich on Saturday night the Chelsea owner stated: "During my nearly 20-year ownership of Chelsea FC, I have always seen myself as a custodian for the club, and whose task is to ensure that we're as successful as we can today, and also building for the future and also being a positive influence in our local communities.
"I have always made decisions in the best interests of Chelsea FC in my mind. I will continue to adhere to these principles. That's why I am now granting Chelsea's charitable foundation's trustees the responsibility of stewardship and the care of Chelsea FC.
"I believe that currently they are in the best position to look after the interests of the club, players, staff, and fans."
This statement was criticized for its lack of clarity and it not mentioning Ukraine, Russia or Putin.
