Chelsea co-owner Todd Boly has apologized after supporters called the club “disrespectful” when a banner honoring the late Ray Wilkins was changed on the Ted Lasso episode.
The banner at Stamford Bridge reading “They don’t make them like Ray anymore” in honor of Wilkins was changed to “They don’t make them like Roy anymore” in reference to the fictional character Roy Kent.
Wilkins died at the age of 61 in 2018 after suffering a cardiac arrest.
The Chelsea Supporters Trust (CST) expressed disappointment at the edit in a statement released on Wednesday.
“This is a banner paid for by supporters in memory of Chelsea legend Ray Wilkins,” the statement said. “Many fans found this edit disrespectful and we have expressed our disappointment to club officials. We expect CFC to address this issue in due course.”
Chelsea are investigating the matter, but Boly says editing the banner was entrusted to Apple TV and not to the Premier League club.
We had nothing to do in these arrangements. The deal with Apple was closed in Q1 2022. We’re sorry this has affected so many and we’re mainly looking out for Ray and his family. Note also that none of the Chelsea players were real Chelsea players. I hope this was clear.
— Todd Boehly (@todd_boehly) March 22, 2023
“We had nothing to do in these arrangements,” Boeli wrote on Twitter. “The deal with Apple was closed in Q1 2022. We’re sorry this has affected so many and we’re mainly looking out for Ray and his family.
“We would also like to point out that none of the Chelsea players were real Chelsea players. I hope that was clear.”
Wilkins played over 200 games for Chelsea in the 1970s and later worked as an assistant manager for Gianluca Vialli, Luis Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti.
During his playing career, he also played for Manchester United, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Rangers and QPR.
