Chelsea fans have expressed relief after the club performed a U-turn on their attempts to have their FA Cup clash with Middlesbrough played behind closed doors.
Following sanctions imposed on Roman Abramovich, Chelsea are unable to sell matchday tickets, including for away games such as the quarter-final. On Tuesday they released a statement confirming the request for the Riverside clash to be played without fans.
The Blues cited concerns over "sporting integrity" claiming their Championship opponents could gain an unfair advantage if the 4,000 Chelsea fans previously expected to make the trip were not allowed in. However, they were met by a firm backlash from Boro, their chairman Steve Gibson, as well as their own fans.
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It was not a big surprise then when the FA released a statement on Tuesday evening, confirming that Chelsea had withdrawn their request. They wrote: "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.
"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 games and away fans to attend Stamford Bridge, whilst ensuring sanctions are respected."
Former Chelsea defender Graeme Le Saux was also scathing in his assessment of the request, dubbing it "embarrassing." Upon hearing news of the withdrawal, plenty of supporters expressed relief.
@QueenSandy_CFC said: "I mean thank god Chelsea removed the request coz it was embarrassing."
@CFCTobs said: "Terrible decision in the first place."
@BradBoy8349 said: "In all fairness Chels. We should never have requested it in the first place. Glad the request has been withdrawn."
@_stevegoodwin said: "Well done @ChelseaFC the right thing to do. My God, you guys make it challenging sometimes."
@Padstow77 said: "Terrible decision to ask in the first place...embarrassing, to say the least.... wonder whose bright idea it was?"
@Phillyp14 said: "This is the right move, we shouldn’t be punishing Middlesbrough."
@Y_8_c said: "Ridiculous request to begin with."
