Chelsea football club have made an official request to the FA asking that their upcoming FA Cup clash away at Middlesbrough is played behind closed doors.
This is due to the recent sanctions placed on the outgoing Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich enforced by the UK Government due to the 55-year-old's ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As part of the sanctions, Chelsea are unable to sell any extra tickets beyond those who currently boast a season ticket at Stamford Bridge, meaning all upcoming away games have been plunged into chaos.
The club have been placed under a special licence which permits them to operate but unable to generate new revenue. Thomas Tuchel's side are expected to make the trip to the Riverside on Saturday afternoon to take on Middlesbrough in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup but will do so without their army of away fans cheering them on, as per a statement released from the club on Tuesday afternoon.
It read: "We are disappointed to announce we will not be able to sell tickets for Saturday's FA Cup tie at Middlesbrough. 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.
"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. 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."
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It is thought that the FA are unlikely to accept the request. The recent fall-out as a result of the sanctions has sparked significant backlash from the Chelsea fanbase who feel their club are being unfairly targeted.
Middlesbrough have released a statement of their own that does not hold back on their thoughts surrounding Chelsea's update.
"We are aware of Chelsea's request to have Saturday's Emirates FA Cup sixth round tie played behind closed doors and find their suggestion both bizarre and without any merit.
"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."
A recent away trip to Turf Moor saw Chelsea's travelling contingent chant Abramovich's name, something that has since been condemned by the spokesperson of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who described the chanting as "unacceptable".
Blues boss Tuchel has hit back, claiming: "I heard about it some minutes ago. I don't know if these are the most important subjects to be talked about in parliament. If they are being discussed in parliament, maybe we need to worry about the priorities of discussion."
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