Chelsea FC

Dean Furman's up for the cup

By James Masters, November 10, 2011

Dean Furman watched his beloved Chelsea win the FA Cup as boy – now he wants to lead his own Blue Army down Wembley Way.

The Oldham captain will lead his side out against League Two side Burton Albion at Boundary Park on Saturday hoping to embark on a route to cup glory.

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Abramovich and Berezovsky spat goes to court

By Jennifer Lipman, October 4, 2011

Two Russian Jewish businessmen faced each other in court yesterday on the first day of a high profile case against Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich.

Mr Abramovich has been accused of the betrayal and blackmail of his former business partner Boris Berezovsky. The pair, among the world's richest men, worked together following the collapse of the Soviet Union but fell out several years ago.

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Benayoun joins Arsenal

By Danny Caro, August 31, 2011

Yossi Benayoun has joined Arsenal. A dramatic day of negotiations ended on Wednesday night when the Israel captain signed a one-year loan deal at the Emirates.

Having been linked with moves to Spurs, Liverpool and Lille, Benayoun flew into Heathrow airport on Wednesday morning and completed his transfer from Chelsea just hours before the transfer window closed.

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Malaysia sorry for Benayoun abuse - if it took place

By Jennifer Lipman, July 29, 2011

The Malaysian Football Association has weighed in to the row over alleged antisemitic abuse directed at Israeli Chelsea player Yossi Benayoun at a match in Kuala Lumpur last week.

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Chelsea: formal complaint over Malaysian 'antisemitism'

By Jennifer Lipman, July 28, 2011

Chelsea football club have made an official complaint following what they described as antisemitic abuse directed at Israeli player Yossi Benayoun at a match in Kuala Lumpur.

The Israeli became the first footballer from the Jewish state to play in a match in Malaysia in many years, when he helped Chelsea beat Malaysian XI last week.

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Malaysian fans shout abuse at Chelsea's Yossi Benayoun

By Jennifer Lipman, July 22, 2011

Yossi Benayoun faced jeers and abuse from the crowds at a match in Kuala Lumpur this week, when he became the first Israeli footballer in years to play in Malaysia, a mostly Muslim country.

Benayoun helped secure Chelsea a 1-0 victory over the Malaysian XI team in Thursday's pre-season match.

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Chelsea's Roman Abramovich scores on Sunday Times Rich List

By Jennifer Lipman, May 9, 2011

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has seen his fortune rise by nearly £3 billion in the last year in a bumper year for Britain's wealthiest people.

The Russian Jewish oil tycoon, who was the second biggest faller in terms of wealth in 2009, was named as Britain's third richest person on this year's Sunday Times Rich List.

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Rebuilt: the 6 million dollar man Benayoun

March 3, 2011

Chelsea midfielder Yossi Benayoun is set to resume full training nearly five months after undergoing surgery on a torn Achilles tendon.

The news comes as a welcome boost following Tuesday's 2-1 victory over leaders Manchester United.

Benayoun said: "I'm feeling really good and progressing well. I hope to return to full training with Chelsea within a week or two."

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Chelsea's Abramovich loses Berezovsky lawsuit appeal

By Jennifer Lipman, February 23, 2011

London will be the scene for an unprecedented High Court battle between two Jewish oligarchs.

A £2 billion lawsuit against Russian businessman Roman Abramovich will go to trial after the Chelsea owner lost an appeal to quash a claim brought by his former business partner Boris Berezovsky.

The pair, who are among the world’s richest men, worked together following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

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Torres: Yossi is my friend

By Simon Griver, February 3, 2011

Playing alongside Israel captain Yossi Benayoun is one of the things that attracted Fernando Torres to Chelsea, breaking the British transfer record with a £50 million move from Liverpool in the process.

Torres followed in the footsteps of Benayoun who moved from Anfield to Stamford Bridge last summer.

"The opportunity to link up with him again excites me," Torres said. "Hopefully, he will recover from injury fully as soon as possible.

"He is my friend on and off the pitch. I know that all the players at Liverpool miss him. He's a great lad."

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Yossi Benayoun is on the mend

January 27, 2011

Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea boss, is confident that midfielder Yossi Benayoun will be back in action in March. The Israel captain is recovering from surgery on a torn Achilles.

Ancelotti said: "It's 14 weeks since Benayoun had surgery. I think he needs to have another six to eight weeks to fully recover. Everything is okay, he just needs more time."

Benayoun is looking to return in time for the Champions League quarter-finals, assuming Chelsea beats FC Copenhagen, and Israel's Euro 2012 qualifiers at the end of March.

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Benayoun inspires Israel in Euro 2012 opener

By Danny Caro, September 3, 2010

A hat-trick from captain Yossi Benayoun helped Israel make a winning start as they beat Malta 3-1 in the Euro 2012 qualifying Group F opener in Tel Aviv last night.

Benayoun, who joined Chelsea from Liverpool during the summer, put the hosts ahead inside seven minutes. Having already had a strike ruled out, he produced a composed finish, slotting Lior Rafaelov’s pass into the net.

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Ancelotti pressed for Benayoun signature

By Simon Griver, June 15, 2010

Reports from Israel say that Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti instructed the club’s management to reach a separate agreement with Liverpool over the signing of Yossi Benayoun.

The transfer of the Israeli to Chelsea became bogged down in the past few weeks because it was part of a more complex package designed to bring Liverpool striker Fernando Torres to Stamford Bridge as well.

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Benayoun agrees Chelsea switch

By Simon Griver, June 14, 2010

Yossi Benayoun has agreed a four-year contract with Chelsea.

Reports in Israel say that Chelsea and Liverpool reached a compromise transfer fee today clearing the way for Israel’s captain to move to Stamford Bridge.

The Premier League champions had a £4 million offer for midfielder rejected last month by Liverpool who were demanding £10 million.

Benayoun, 30, who is on holiday in Israel, will fly back to England later this week to undergo a medical at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground.

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Benayoun sees his future at Chelsea

By Simon Griver, May 24, 2010

Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun has told friends in the Israel national team that he expects to move to Chelsea over the summer.

Benayoun said: "(Carlo) Ancelotti wants me for next season and now everything depends on Liverpool. Chelsea will have to pay £6 million but I believe that in the end I'll be moving there."

Benayoun has spent the past week training in Israel under new national team coach Luis Fernandez. However, he was released on Sunday from Israel's away friendlies against Uruguay and Chile over the next week

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Analysis: A matter of context

By Rod Liddle, January 21, 2010

Context is everything. I’m a Millwall supporter and I do not know of a single fellow fan who could remotely be described as antisemitic. But looking at the stuff a few bloggers have pulled from one the club’s fan-sites, where I sometimes post, you would probably beg to differ. But then if you looked at the stuff on any football website — and especially those of the London premier league rivals, Spurs — you will find the same, and worse besides.

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Roman Abramovich names son after late father

By Simon Griver, December 11, 2009

Roman Abramovich has named his new son Aaron Alexander Abramovich after his late father Arkady, whose Jewish name was Aaron.

Mr Abramovich's father was killed in a construction site accident in Russia when the billionaire Chelsea owner was just four years old.

Daria Zhukova gave birth at Los Angeles’ Cedar-Sinai Medical Center last Thursday. The hospital is close to where the former model grew up and her Jewish mother Elena’s home. Ms Zhukova attended a Jewish school in California as a teenager.

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Avram Grant rejoins Portsmouth

By Danny Caro, October 7, 2009

Avram Grant has been reinstalled as Director of Football at Premier League strugglers Portsmouth.

The former Chelsea manager, 54, joined the Fratton Park club in the same role in June 2006, just months after stepping down from the Israel national job.

The appointment was made days after billionaire Saudi businessman Ali Al Faraj bought the club.

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Chelsea to ban antisemitic football chants

By Marcus Dysch, October 7, 2009

Chelsea FC have pledged to find and ban supporters filmed singing antisemitic songs about rivals Tottenham at a match last month.

Clips of fans chanting in a concourse at Stoke City’s Britannia Stadium were posted on YouTube, leading Spurs to complain to the west London club.

They can be heard singing "Spurs are on their way to Auschwitz" while beer bottles are thrown around.

Chelsea, owned by Roman Abramovich, said they had passed the clips to police who are now investigating.

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Sahar on his way this summer

By Exclusive by Simon Griver, May 20, 2009

Ben Sahar will leave Chelsea next month, we can reveal.

The news comes after we spoke to the Israeli teenager’s agent Ronen Katzav in Israel.

He said: “First Ben has to complete his loan spell with De Graafschap and then he will be ending things with Chelsea. I will fly to London to discuss the many offers we have for him.”

Katzav refused to name any of the clubs interested but Borussia Dortmund and Ajax Amsterdam are among teams linked with the striker.

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