London: Blackburn Rovers' Indian owners from the Venky's group were subjected to abuse and attacked with snowballs by fans before the side's defeat by Charlton Athletic at home. Jitendra Desai, husband of owner Anuradha, was hit in the face as he got out of their limos at the entrance to Ewood Park before last Saturday's defeat in new manager Michael Appleton's first game in charge.
Relegated from the English Premier League last season, Blackburn are placed a poor 14th after 27 matches in the 24-team second division league. Desai looked distressed as he wiped his face and glasses with an aide's handkerchief before entering the stadium, according to the 'Daily Mail'.
After being at the receiving end of the fans' outrage, the owners, who are in England on holiday, left at the half time. It has been troubled times of late for the Ewood Park club.
In November 2010, Venky's set up a new holding company, Venky's London Ltd, and bought a 99.9 per cent stake in Blackburn Rovers FC, spending 23 million pounds on the deal and taking on around 20 million pounds of the club's debt. The relationship between the owners and fans has been always been bitter ever since Venky's took over the club.
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