Chelsea to defend Bates writ

Chelsea have vowed to “vigorously defend” a £2m (€2.9m) writ brought against them by Ken Bates as the row between the outgoing chairman and owner Roman Abramovich threatened to end in court.

Bates is suing Chelsea for up to £2m (€2.9m) for what he claims was a breach of the contract that he signed with Abramovich last summer during the Russian’s takeover.

He believed that the deal entitled him to generous expenses and allowances for work on club business, as well as the honour of representing Chelsea at Football Association and Premier League meetings, for the next two years.

However, Bates, who resigned as chairman last week after 22 years at the helm, had found his position marginalised and power base diminished after the arrival of chief executive Peter Kenyon, as well as Bruce Buck, the new chairman of the Chelsea Village parent company.

Now, after taking legal advice, 72-year-old Bates has issued Chelsea with a writ and has reportedly even threatened to subpoena Abramovich to give evidence if the case ever comes to court.

Chelsea are nevertheless determined to contest the case, insisting they have acted “responsibly and honourably” during the whole affair.

The club announced in a statement on their website, www.chelseafc.com: “We can confirm that Ken Bates has instituted legal proceedings against Chelsea Village plc and Chelsea Football Club for breach of contract.

“We will be vigorously defending this action as we are satisfied that we have behaved both responsibly and honourably in every way in our dealings with Ken Bates.

“Ken Bates has resigned his position as chairman of Chelsea Football Club and is no longer a director.”

Buck, meanwhile, has also rejected Bates’ outspoken criticisms of the club, which were made as he announced his departure at one of his chairman’s supper club evenings last week.

Bates had declared: “I feel that – and I have taken advice on this – that the agreement I had in July has not been honoured. It has been broken and I have resigned as chairman of Chelsea Football Club.

“It was anticipated that I would be phased out when the new regime took over and it’s not gone as I thought it would.

“It’s a clash of Eastern and Western cultures. Their philosophy is not my philosophy and my values are not their values.”

Buck has now responded by writing in the club’s programme for last night’s Champions League tie against Stuttgart: “We hit the headlines on most of the back pages with the sudden departure of Ken Bates.

“He decided to announce his resignation at one of his famous supper clubs, taking everyone by surprise and making it clear in his typical style that he had issues with the way that the club has been run.

“Needless to say, we respect Ken’s views but strongly disagree with them in this case.

“Ken has been the face of the club for many fans and we will miss him, but he will never be forgotten.

“He made a major contribution to the success of Chelsea and everyone associated with the club recognises what an important role he played.”

Bates had been especially angered by the decision to axe his own infamous programme notes, while he had also effectively been replaced at Premier League meetings by Kenyon.

Buck nevertheless added: “Don’t assume that my comments will be a regular feature of the programme. Nothing can replace the Ken Bates programme notes, so we won’t even try.”