Chelsea fans have been urged not to sing the name of former owner Roman Abramovich during moments of solidarity with Ukraine.
The club's travelling fans at Burnley last Saturday ruined a pre-match minute of applause for the people of the war-torn country by chanting the name of their Russian owner.
Abramovich, who bought the Stamford Bridge club in 2003, has put them up for sale - at an asking price of £3billion - amid fears he will be sanctioned by the UK government.
It follows Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine, sparking a brutal conflict and a humanitarian crisis as millions of people flee the country.
Ahead of Chelsea's Premier League trip to Norwich City on Thursday night, the Chelsea Supporters' Trust have urged their fans not to sing in support of Abramovich, who allegedly has strong ties to Putin.
A spokesperson told The Sun: 'The CST has been steadfast in support of the people of Ukraine.
'Singing Mr Abramovich's name at that time was clearly inappropriate. There is a time and a place for it.
'From minute one to 90 during the match is fine but not during the one minute marked as a tribute to the people of Ukraine.
'With Norwich, we hope supporters take on baord the comments of the manager and respect the minute's applause or silence.'
Manager Thomas Tuchel was critical of the fans who sung Abramovich's name ahead of the Burnley match, when Turf Moor was lit up in the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag and the players assembled for a minute of applause.
'It's not the moment to do this,' Tuchel said. 'If we show solidarity, we show solidarity and we should do it together.
'We take the knee together. If an important person from our club or another club unfortuntely dies we have a minute of respect.
'It is not the moment to give other messages. It's the moment to show respect. We want to do this. As a club we need our fans to commit to this minute of applause.
'We do it for Ukraine and there is no second opinion about this situation. They have our thoughts and our support and we should stand together.'
A Chelsea spokesperson said: 'The club's very firm view is that moments of respect or recognition should always be honoured by everyone present.'
Chelsea head to Carrow Road on Thursday as they look to firm up their top four position after thrashing Burnley 4-0 at the weekend. They host Newcastle United on Sunday.
It came as Sportsmail revealed the British property developer Nick Candy, a Chelsea fan, is working on a £2.5billion bid for the club in conjunction with other investors from America. Candy's bid will include plans for a £1.5bn rebuild of Stamford Bridge.
Satbdimo
57
The first time I noticed how ridiculous it sounds when people condemn Chelsea for it's ownership is when my Grandma who had been listening on as we watched the PL discussions on TV, asked me why Abramovic had invaded Ukraine. I came to understand that cowards are afraid of confronting the perpetrator, instead they find a softer target whom they vent all their anger on. That's how people in England are treating Abramovic. Here, in the US, which is even more involved in the Russia-Ukraine issue, we have some rich and famous people who are friends of Putin and are even open about it eg Donald Trump, Steve Seagal etc, but we don't victimize them for being business pals of Putin because we take the enemy to be Putin and no one else. He is acting in his capacity as a head of state and dictator. It is common knowledge that dictators do not take advice from anyone, so why bother anyone else for the sins of a dictator.
GeneralYaka
19
I hope the fans keep singing his name. We're Chelsea fans, not Ukrainian fans. Abramovich has done more for football as a sport, than Ukraine as a country ever will. Like it or not, it's the truth. When it's time to stand together with Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam and Yemen, then maybe we'll stop chanting Abramovich's name. Bloody bunch of British hypocrites. 🙄