Thomas Tuchel has admitted that Chelsea were wrong to ask for Saturday’s FA Cup clash with Middlesbrough to be played behind closed doors.
The German made no attempt to hide his dismay at the request, which was widely criticised throughout football – with even the club’s own fans expressing their anger.
Chelsea were forced into an embarrassing climbdown on Tuesday, but the reputational damage was done, with Boro chairman Steve Gibson heavily critical of his Stamford Bridge counterpart Bruce Buck.
Tuchel wanted to distance himself and the players from the decision when asked about it after Wednesday’s 2-1 win against Lille in the Champions League, which saw Chelsea progress to the quarter-finals with a 4-1 aggregate result.
He said: “That was our responsibility. Not mine or from the team because, let me put it like this, we love to play in front of spectators and I don’t think spectators of our opponents should suffer from the consequences.
“I think the proposal was withdrawn and it was absolutely the right thing to do because that was from our side and hopefully was not meant like this.
“It was not the best idea, to put it like this. We love to play in front of spectators. Me and the team were not involved in this decision and I’m happy that it was withdrawn. Very happy.”
Only around 600 visiting fans will be able to travel to Boro, with Chelsea banned from selling tickets after the sanctioning of Roman Abramovich by the UK Government last week.
The request to play behind closed doors was seen as an attempt to pressure the Government into easing the restrictions placed on them through the terms of the special licence granted to allow them to continue football operations.
As it stands they will not be able to sell tickets for any remaining Champions League games, meaning they face playing behind closed doors matches for as long as they remain in the competition unless the terms change.
In response, Tuchel said: “Thanks for ruining my evening! I was in such a good mood, can we speak about it when it’s confirmed?
“Let’s wait for the confirmation of the confirmation. Let’s see, today I’m happy that we are in the last eight.
“There were a lot of things to overcome, so I’m so happy and so proud. So let’s see.
“It’s the first thing I hear now. In three days we play Middlesbrough in the cup, then we have the national break, and then I’ll think about a good answer.”
