Chelsea 's team bus was met with a chorus of boos as it arrived at the Riverside Stadium ahead of Saturday evening's FA Cup quarter-final against Middlesbrough.
The hostile reception came after the Blues submitted a request for the fixture to be played behind closed doors as they are prevented from selling new away tickets due to sanctions imposed on their Russian oligarch owner, Roman Abramovich. Chelsea faced mass backlash for the request with Middlesbrough branding it "bizarre and without any merit whatsoever" and Graeme Le Saux labelling it "embarrassing".
Having initially cited "sporting integrity" as the reason for game to be played in front of no fans, the West Londoners were forced into an embarrassing U-turn. However, the incident was fresh in the memory for Middlesbrough fans who emphatically booed the visitors on their arrival at the stadium.
