Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has accepted an apology and substantial libel damages at the High Court, following newspaper claims that he had a serious gambling problem.
The legal action arose out of claims made by Italian newspaper La Repubblica last May in an article entitled 'A black year for Abramovich as he loses a yacht at poker'.
His solicitor, John Kelly, told the judge that his "internationally well-known and wealthy" client had suffered "distress and embarrassment" as a result of the newspaper's claims.
Kelly asserted that the report had claimed Abramovich had "suffered a heavy loss in a poker game and had been forced to hand over a luxury yacht worth half a million euros to cover his gambling debt.
"The report also alleged that Mr. Abramovich's poker playing had led to a crisis with his long-term partner Dasha Zhukova and that Mr. Abramovich was now gambling online.
"The article would have been understood to mean that he had such a serious gambling problem that he was not only jeopardizing his relationship with his long-term partner Dasha Zhukova, who had been forced to issue him an ultimatum that he either give up playing poker or she would end their relationship, but he was also seriously risking his financial stability and had already been forced to liquidate assets, through the sale of one of his yachts, in order to cover his heavy gambling debts.
"Regrettably, these allegations were not put to Mr. Abramovich or his representatives before publication. If they had been, the defendant would have been advised of the utter falsity of the allegations."
The solicitor for the publishers of the article offered her clients' apologies to Mr. Abramovich, who intends to donate the damages received to charity.
The legal action arose out of claims made by Italian newspaper La Repubblica last May in an article entitled 'A black year for Abramovich as he loses a yacht at poker'.
His solicitor, John Kelly, told the judge that his "internationally well-known and wealthy" client had suffered "distress and embarrassment" as a result of the newspaper's claims.
Kelly asserted that the report had claimed Abramovich had "suffered a heavy loss in a poker game and had been forced to hand over a luxury yacht worth half a million euros to cover his gambling debt.
"The report also alleged that Mr. Abramovich's poker playing had led to a crisis with his long-term partner Dasha Zhukova and that Mr. Abramovich was now gambling online.
"The article would have been understood to mean that he had such a serious gambling problem that he was not only jeopardizing his relationship with his long-term partner Dasha Zhukova, who had been forced to issue him an ultimatum that he either give up playing poker or she would end their relationship, but he was also seriously risking his financial stability and had already been forced to liquidate assets, through the sale of one of his yachts, in order to cover his heavy gambling debts.
"Regrettably, these allegations were not put to Mr. Abramovich or his representatives before publication. If they had been, the defendant would have been advised of the utter falsity of the allegations."
The solicitor for the publishers of the article offered her clients' apologies to Mr. Abramovich, who intends to donate the damages received to charity.
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