Ted Lasso: Chelsea fans outraged after hijacking gone wrong

However, accustomed to praise and positive reviews, the series Ted Lasso is at the center of turmoil in the world of football. The series, available on Apple TV+, tells the story of the hectic life of an American soccer coach who is hired to coach the players of the British club AFC Richmond.

Despite the heavy and cynical atmosphere and lack of experience, Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) gradually manages to find his place in this new environment thanks to his optimism and determination, which is necessary for prosperity and work. team.

In the third season of the multi-award winning run, AFC Richmond managed promotion to the Premier League despite media criticism. The club must prove itself in order to hope to rise in the ranking.

And in the second episode, available from March 22 on Apple TV+, AFC Richmond take on (fictional) Chelsea. And a detail that happened in the stadium during that game pissed off the (very real) Chelsea supporters.

Angry Chelsea fans

Chelsea fans did not appreciate that the Ted Lasso series hijacked the famous banner dedicated to Ray Wilkins, a former club legend who died in 2018. This banner, paid for by supporters, makes this statement: “They don’t look like Ray anymore.” (“We Don’t Make Them Rave Anymore”in French), a sentence uttered by Frans Lampard, a former Chelsea player who also coached the team for a while.

In Ted Lasso Season 3 Episode 2, this banner is hijacked to pay tribute to fictional player Roy Kent, played by Brett Goldstein, with the following sentence. “They don’t look like them Roy anymore.” The latter was at Chelsea before moving to AFC Richmond and is now an assistant manager.

Chelsea supporters hold this banner in tribute to Roy Kent during the AFC Richmond v Chelsea match. But this diversion to celebrate a fictional player in a fictional version of the Chelsea team did not sit well with his supporters.

They did not hesitate to make their voices heard on social networks, in particular with this message: “This is a banner paid for by supporters to commemorate Chelsea legend Ray Wilkins. Many supporters found this trespassing disrespectful and we have expressed our disappointment with club officials. We hope the CFC will resolve this matter in due course.”

Therefore, Chelsea supporters did not appreciate this mixture of fantasy and reality, despite Chelsea’s own team serving as a game of promotion and humor for the Ted Lasso series, as evidenced by the true-false preview message recorded by Graham Potter, the current manager. From the real Chelsea team.

In addition, Ted Lasso has invaded the real world of football, as the AFC Richmond team is available in the FIFA 23 video game! In particular, you can choose Ted Lasso as a coach in career mode or manage AFC Richmond (by swapping with a Premier League team).

While some supporters have gone straight after CFC, who they accuse of selling stadium footage to Apple, Todd Boell, the club’s current owner from May 2022, defended himself on Twitter.

“We had nothing to do with these agreements”he explained. “The deal with Apple ended in the first quarter of 2022. We are sorry that this has affected so many people and we care most about Ray and his family. We would also like to point out that none of the Chelsea players were real Chelsea players. I hope that Is it clear.”

For Apple, the hype is coming down badly as the firm is set to make a bid for the English Premier League broadcast rights, valued at €6 billion, in the UK.

Season 3 of Ted Lasso is available one episode per week on Apple TV+.