Chelsea back down over request to play Middlesbrough behind closed doors for Emirates FA Cup match
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ByEurosport
Updated 15/03/2022 at 17:18 GMT
Chelsea wanted their FA Cup tie with Middlesbrough played behind-closed-doors and said they took the decision to ask the FA board to take the step “with extreme reluctance” to protect the “sporting integrity” of the competition. Middlesbrough, however, have slammed the request, and Chelsea have now made a U-turn after discussions with the FA.
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Chelsea have agreed to the FA's request for the club to rescind their appeal for their FA Cup tie against Middlesbrough to be played behind closed doors.
Middlesbrough slammed Chelsea following the club's request.
Chelsea asked with “extreme reluctance” that the tie be played without any fans for “matters of sporting integrity” after they were unable to sell further tickets for the fixture.
The west London club are currently operating under a special licence after Russian owner Roman Abramovich had his assets frozen following his country’s invasion of Ukraine.
That licence allows the club to run a number of football-related activities, but forbids the sale of new tickets past the March 10 deadline when the sanctions were imposed.
The club released a statement saying it had lobbied the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation about amending its licence, but were unable to agree a change in time. It added that the club had now asked with “extreme reluctance” for the match to be played behind-closed-doors.
“Despite engaging in extensive discussions with the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), the deadline to purchase away tickets has passed without appropriate amendments being made to the Government licence which would allow a full allocation of Chelsea supporters to attend,” began the statement.
“Executives at Middlesbrough had been kind enough to extend their deadline for ticket sales and stadium allocation from 7.30pm last night until 9.30am this morning.
“It is important for the competition that the match against Middlesbrough goes ahead, however it is with extreme reluctance that we are asking the FA board to direct that the game be played behind closed doors for matters of sporting integrity.
"Chelsea FC recognises that such an outcome would have a huge impact on Middlesbrough and its supporters, as well as our own fans who have already bought the limited number of tickets that were sold before the licence was imposed, but we believe this is the fairest way of proceeding in the current circumstances.”
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The club added that it would continue its dialogue with the OFSI.
“We will continue to discuss the issue of ticket sales with OFSI as there are a number of fixtures still to be played this season and we hope to reach a resolution.”
Middlesbrough, however, took a dim view of the request from Chelsea.
"We are aware of Chelsea's request to have Saturday's FA Cup sixth round tie played behind-closed-doors and find their suggestion both bizarre and without any merit whatsoever," the club's statement read.
"All concerned are well aware of the reasons Chelsea have been sanctioned and that this has nothing to do with Middlesbrough Football Club.
"To suggest as result that MFC and our fans should be penalised is not only grossly unfair but without any foundation.
"Given the reasons for these sanctions, for Chelsea to seek to invoke sporting "integrity" as reason for the game being played behind closed doors is ironic in the extreme.
"We currently await formal notification from the FA of the next steps but rest assured MFC will resist Chelsea's actions in the strongest terms."
The FA released a statement confirming Chelsea had withdrawn their request.
"After constructive talks between The FA and Chelsea, the club has agreed to remove their request for the Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final tie against Middlesbrough to be played behind closed doors," it began.
"The FA remains in ongoing discussions with Chelsea, the Premier League and the Government to find a solution that would enable both Chelsea fans to attend agames and away fans to attend Stamford Bridge, whilst ensuring sanctions are respected."
Chelsea’s match with Newcastle on Sunday was a sell-out as all tickets were sold prior to March 10. Moving forward, only the 28,000 season ticket holders or any fans who bought tickets for matches prior to that date, will be able to attend Chelsea home matches.
The Chelsea Supporters' Trust earlier added a statement that read: "The CST has made it clear to the Government and the sports minister, Nigel Huddleston, that supporters must be able to watch their team.
"We strongly urge [the] Government to amend the licence and allow supporters to obtain tickets. Playing behind-closed-doors does not benefit any supporters.
"The CST has asked Chelsea to withdraw the request for the Middlesbrough game to be played behind-closed-doors."
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