Chelsea vs Man Utd kick-off time finally confirmed as away allocation reduced

Manchester United’s trip to Chelsea on October 22nd will kick off at 5.30pm.

The Premier League have confirmed the kick-off time, but United have seen their away ticket allocation reduced from 2,994 to 2,370. The Metropolitan Police had wanted to reduce United’s allocation to 1,500, but a compromise figure was reached after negotiations.

United have written the following letter to the 2,994 fans already allocated tickets for the Stanford Bridge clash. The letter reads: "Dear supporters, The Premier League has today confirmed that our forthcoming away match against Chelsea will take place at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 22nd October, with a 5.30pm kick-off.

"In recent days we have been in consultation with the Premier League and Chelsea FC after the Metropolitan Police proposed a reduction in our away allocation due to policing concerns.

"The police initially sought to cut our allocation from 2,994 to 1,500. We have strongly opposed any reduction and worked with Chelsea to present a range of mitigations to the local Safety Advisory Group, which we believe could have allowed the game to proceed safely with our full allocation of fans.

"Unfortunately, the police have continued to insist on a reduction. However, we have succeeded in increasing the allocation to 2,370. While we are very disappointed by this outcome and believe it is unjustified, it is clear it is a final decision. We are now urgently considering options for how to manage the removal of 624 tickets from the original allocation which had already been agreed with Chelsea and sold.

Man Utd will have few fans than originally expected at Stamford Bridge (Getty Images)

"We will send further communications on Monday outlining our approach. In the meantime, we strongly advise against booking travel.

"We have turned off ticket forwarding for this game. If you are unable to attend the match, please contact 0161 676 7770. However, please be aware that the contact centre does not have any additional information and will be unable to discuss the situation with you.

"Everyone at Manchester United shares the inevitable disappointment and frustration about both the reduced allocation, and the long delay in confirming arrangements for this game. Over recent years, we have made significant progress in protecting away ticket allocations for our fans and we can assure you that we will continue to fight for this in future. Thank you for your continued loyal support."