Tuscan restaurateur claims to have turned away Abramovich

A Tuscan mystery. David Vaiani, owner of the swanky Bistrot restaurant in the Italian resort of Forte dei Marmi, has been telling reporters of how he turned away Roman Abramovich and a party including his girlfriend Daria Zhukova, because his restaurant was full and the Russian had not booked. Reportedly furious at the snub, Abramovich is said to have immediately set sail for Sardinia while Vaiani told the Italian press: "I have nothing personally against Signor Roman. The problem is that we are serious professionals, and for us our customers come first. If we are full, we cannot just add more places, we would risk compromising the quality of our service. That goes for everyone."

However, a spokesman for Abramovich says the story cannot be true because his client has been nowhere near Tuscany in recent weeks. "He's been on vacation in Sardinia," said John A Mann II, "and prior to that he was at home in Moscow."

And yet the mayor of Forte dei Marmi, Umberto Buratti, has given his backing to Vaiani, saying of his apparent treatment of Abramovich: "This news will please people who love Forte. Bistrot did well to turn him down. Rules count." The mayor's attitude is perhaps not unassociated with the fact that villa after villa in the resort has been bought by Russians - and some townspeople are fed up.

Whatever the Chelsea FC owner's comings and goings, there does appear to be a backlash against the super-rich in the Med. In Sardinia, Flavio Briatore, another English football club owner (QPR), is said to have caused consternation when he and a large party left their yacht and arrived on the beach at Capriccioli in three dinghies to inaugurate a new restaurant of his. Locals hurled buckets of water and sand at the arrivals and tried to push their boats off after claiming that the way the dinghies were driven in "terrorised" young children in the water.
 
Briatore, who runs Renault's Formula One team, was livid. He told Corriere della Sera: "We are nice people and we get rewarded like this. I will close everything down. I pay taxes, this is my right." But the rival La Stampa commented: "The rebellion against those who show off their money and wealth is growing." ·