Chelsea's attacking midfielder star Mason Mount says that he and the rest of the team allowed their football to do the 'talking on the pitch' amid the off-pitch drama surrounding the club. The government's special license meant only 600 Blues fans could attend the 2-0 win against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup.
The club had faced a logistical nightmare ahead of the clash at the Riverside Stadium, with sanctions meaning that no new tickets could be sold. As a result, around 500-600 travelling supporters have made the trek up to Teeside but these are fans that had already purchased their tickets before Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK Government. With the process of a takeover already in progress, the club initially moved to request the game be played behind closed doors for 'sporting integrity' reasons. Words that received a big backlash from the wider footballing community, as Middlesbrough and their chairman unleashed a tirade on Bruce Buck and the higher ups in west London.
Prior to kick-off in Teesside, the fans in the ground made themselves loud but some supporters even went to Stamford Bridge to make their feelings clear to Boris Johnson and Nadine Dorries alike who have been part of the government who made the decision to not allow extra ticket sales to games after the Russian oligarch was sanctioned. Not only were Chelsea not able to fill out their away end in this FA Cup tie but as it stands with the EU sanctioning of Abramovich coupled with the special license in effect that was placed upon the club by the government, supporters are set to miss the Real Madrid Champions League knockout tie.
