Arsenal’s Russian Part-Owner Denies Seedy Allegations, Even That He’s Russian

For as much crap as we give the Englishmen trying to kick the foreigners out of English soccer, there is one person we actually think is correctly being scrutinized: Alisher Usmanov. The Uzbek-born Usmanov owns a quarter of English Premier League team Arsenal, but apparently he’s 100% into some shit. In an e-mail exchange with The Guardian, he had to deny charges that range from rape to being a former KGB agent. Say what you want about Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, but he never had to deny rape charges. Publicly, anyway.

Usmanov, a Moscow-based steel and mining magnate, has denied that he was ever convicted of rape and dismissed suggestions that he was connected with the death of a Russian journalist whose body was found at the foot of an apartment block earlier this year. He also talked of his relationship with a man alleged to be a major drug trafficker and was frank about his connections with a number of former KGB officers.

Oh, damn, Cristiano Ronaldo better start tanking to give Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas the title of best player on the planet. With Usmanov and his former KGB buddies around, he’s got more problems than getting fat off English food.
Arsenal’s suitor denies allegations of murky past [Guardian]
Image [Guardian]