Images of Everton changes at Goodison Park emerge amid Alisher Usmanov controversy
Images have emerged from Goodison Park showing evidence of the changes being made by Everton to distance itself from Alisher Usmanov.
The Russian businessman is linked to club owner Marhad Moshiri, and co-owns major sponsors MegaFon and USM, who the club announced yesterday (Wednesday 2 March) in a statement they were suspending their relationship with in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Following the announcement, action was taken overnight to remove the large MegaFon branding from the outside of the stadium.
PA Dugout posted photos to their Twitter account of the advertising being removed from the outside wall by workers on a platform, along with the message: “MegaFon branding disappears from Goodison Park overnight after Everton suspend commercial ties with Alisher Usmanov’s companies”.
The Toffees host Boreham Wood tonight in the FA Cup.
Quick reaction
Figures with alleged connections to Russian president Vladimir Putin are facing sanctions in the UK, and Usmanov has already had his assets frozen in the EU.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been met with widespread shock and disgust across football, despite cosy relationships with elements of the Russian state in many cases.
The Toffees have come out in strong support of Ukrainian full-back Vitalii Mykolenko, and therefore moved quickly subsequently to cut ties with the Russian whose exact role in relation to the club is still unclear.
His ties with the owner are one of many reasons that Moshiri has become increasingly unpopular on Merseyside.
There were sustained protests during the January transfer window as the club lurched from candidate to candidate in the search for a new manager.
Frank Lampard was eventually secured to replace Rafael Benitez and has provided a veneer of respectability for now.
But the ownership, the relationship Usmanov, and the implications now that the club is backtracking on those all require continued scrutiny.
In other Everton news, one club shareholder has admitted the move “may cost us”.
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