Middlesbrough have responded to Chelsea's request for their FA Cup quarter-final tie to be played behind closed doors on Saturday. The Blues, whose owner Roman Abramovich has recently been sanctioned by the UK government, were unable to sell out the away section of the Riverside Stadium.
A statement from Chelsea on Tuesday afternoon 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.
