A Chelsea split in two by the war and a neighborhood without a pandemic: "You can stay the night when the sanctions end"

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from north to south

, full of antique shops, fast food outlets, beer pubs and fruit and fish stalls, Stamford Bridge's Britannia Gate suddenly appears

,

Chelsea Football

stadium

.

Far from looking like a large complex, the blue coliseum gives the feeling of hiding between the brick buildings.

The facilities are on the border between neighborhoods.

They belong to the district of

, although the team's name refers to the adjoining neighborhood of

.

On the other side of Fulham, on the River

, is

, the stadium of the neighborhood's named team.

A rivalry of clubs and fields that seems to have already lived its hottest moments, with Chelsea installed in the European elite and with its fans more attentive to other teams.

In this same place, eleven months ago, between the portals of the family residences, the fans of the London team stoned the

bus in the second leg of the

semifinals .

Taking a walk around Stamford Bridge helps to understand why and how the Russian invasion of Ukraine has split Chelsea's season in two.

Without an owner after the resignation of the Russian

, who is now a mediator in the war and awaits the definitive sale of the entity;

with his managers with their 'hands tied', unable to renew or sign players;

without selling tickets (with the exception of the match against Madrid, where yesterday the '

' was posted) or shirts in the official store due to the

... With practically nothing.

So much so, that the players have had to advance the money themselves to pay for gasoline on the buses they use on league trips.

Attached to the stadium's Britannia Gate, almost wall to wall, is the

, "the heart of

" which still runs rooms for men and women who have left the army today.

A capital coincidence but the faithful reflection of how little London society forgets the

of the last century.

This is partly why there was hardly any mercy in the fines given to the Russian oligarchs and why several Ukrainian flags can be seen on the houses in the nearest streets.

Gasoline and hatred of Chelsea

Beyond the money that the first team footballers have to put up for their away matches, those who have suffered the most from the sanctions are the employees of the facilities.

Chelsea cannot take advantage of its departments, which are unemployed because they depend on their Russian owner.

In addition to not selling training and having the store closed, those responsible for the English organization cannot reserve the rooms at the

hotels , which are part of the Stamford Bridge structure and were until now one of their main sources of income. .

In the absence of fans, part of them have been occupied by

.

«You can stay to sleep when the sanctions end.

At the moment we cannot sell anything, ”they tell this newspaper at the doors of the hotel.

Through the web, all the rooms are strangely "

" for the entire month of April, without further explanation.

In four weeks they hope to have new bosses.

The surroundings of Stamford Bridge have, like almost all of London, forgotten the

.

You don't see masks indoors, they have recovered day-to-day life and the shops are back to normal: "We are not like before the pandemic, but

," explains Ahmed, a furniture store clerk.

The neighborhood, middle class and with not too cheap prices, does not seem to suffer.

The debates focus, of course, on gasoline.

“This is what worries me the most right now.

It is very expensive, "says Edgar, a taxi driver.

Diesel

has gone from

in February to

now.

This Wednesday, yes, all eyes will be on the grass.

"I hated Chelsea because I'm from Arsenal, but now I like it even worse," insists Edgar, who threatens to spit when naming the

.

The two, along with Tottenham, are the great teams of a city that breathes football and that tonight will mark much of Real Madrid's season.

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• Articles Abraham Romero