December 23 – Russian oligarch and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has settled his libel case over publication of claims that he bought the club on the orders of Vladimir Putin.
Abramovich has received an apology from publishers HarperCollins who have agreed to amend certain passages in a book, Putin’s People, and to make a charitable donation in lieu of damages.
It comes after a High Court ruling last month that the book about Putin and his associates made nine defamatory statements about Abramovich.
The book included an allegation by another Russian billionaire, Sergei Pugachev, that Abramovich had bought the club in 2003 on the orders of Putin.
In a statement, the publisher said Catherine Belton’s book “contained some inaccurate information” about Abramovich.
“While the book always included a denial that Mr Abramovich was acting under anybody’s direction when he purchased Chelsea, the new edition will include a more detailed explanation of Mr Abramovich’s motivations for buying the club,” it read.
“HarperCollins and the author apologise that these aspects of the book were not as clear as they would have liked them to have been and are happy to have now clarified the text.”
The publisher added that it was committed to publishing investigative work and defending free speech and that Catherine Belton’s book was “highly regarded and critically acclaimed”.
A spokesperson for the Chelsea owner welcomed the apology and removal of “several false claims about him” from the book, with amendments “resulting in the deletion or addition of over 1,700 words” being agreed.
“As Mr Abramovich stated when issuing his claim earlier this year, its sole purpose was to refute the false allegations published regarding his name and have them corrected, including the false statements made about the nature of the purchase and activities of Chelsea Football Club.”
“In contrast to events relayed in the book, Mr Abramovich’s ambition with Chelsea Football Club has always been clear and transparent: to create world-class teams on the pitch and to ensure the club plays a positive role in all of its communities.”
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