On Monday, Everton-linked Alisher Usmanov was one of a number of oligarchs sanctioned by the European Union for alleged ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
President Putin's decision to invade neighbouring Ukraine with military force has created an international crisis and seen wealthy individuals and Russian companies face sanctions from the US, EU and others in a bid to put pressure on Putin to put a stop to the conflict.
Usmanov, who has no shareholding at Everton but whose firms such as USM and MegaFon have aided revenues considerably through sponsorship deals, was named in the EU sanctions report as someone who had "actively supported materially or financially Russian decision-makers responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation of Ukraine" and "actively supported the Russian government’s policies of destabilisation of Ukraine."
