Boehly apologises after ´disrespectful´ Ray Wilkins tribute banner edit in Ted Lasso

Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly has apologised after the club were labelled “disrespectful” by supporters when a banner honouring the late Ray Wilkins was altered in an episode of TV series Ted Lasso.

The banner at Stamford Bridge, which reads “They don’t make them like Ray anymore” in tribute to Wilkins, was changed to read “They don’t make them like Roy anymore” in reference to 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 to commemorate a Chelsea legend – Ray Wilkins,” the statement read. “Many supporters have seen this edit to be disrespectful, and we have expressed our disappointment to club officials. We expect that CFC will address this in due course.”

Chelsea are investigating the matter, but Boehly says the banner edit was down to Apple TV, rather than the Premier League club.

We had nothing to do these arrangements. The deal w/ apple was struck in 1Q/22. We are sorry it affected so many and mostly we care about Ray and his family. We would also point out that none of the “Chelsea” players were actual Chelsea players. Hopefully, that was clear.

— Todd Boehly (@todd_boehly) March 22, 2023

“We had nothing to do these arrangements,” Boehly posted on Twitter. “The deal w/ apple was struck in 1Q/22. We are sorry it affected so many and mostly we care about Ray and his family.

“We would also point out that none of the ‘Chelsea’ players were actual Chelsea players. Hopefully, that was clear.”

Wilkins played over 200 games for Chelsea in the 1970s and later served as assistant manager under Gianluca Vialli, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti.

He also played for Manchester United, Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Rangers and QPR among others during his playing career.