Chelsea have withdrawn their request for their FA Cup quarter-final clash against Middlesbrough to be played behind closed doors.
The West London club have been placed under a special licence which permits them to operate but unable to generate new revenue due to sanctions placed on owner Roman Abramovich by the UK government. Thomas Tuchel's side are scheduled to make the trip to the Riverside on Saturday in their last eight clash.
However, the Blues remain unable to sell tickets for their fans due to the sanctions – with only season tickets and tickets bought before sanctions were placed on Abramovich allowed for their club’s matches. That led to their request on Tuesday morning for the game to be played behind closed doors – which has now been withdrawn.
An FA statement released on Wednesday afternoon read: “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.”
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Earlier in the day, the Blues released a statement in which they called for the game at the Riverside to be played behind closed doors in the interest of ‘sporting integrity’. That would have meant that no Boro fans would have been allowed to attend the game alongside no visiting supporters.
The statement 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."
Middlesbrough then offered a clear rebuff to Chelsea's statement by claiming that the request was both "bizarre" and "without merit". Following talks with the FA, the Blues have shelved their request entirely.
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