An MP has insisted that there is no excuse for Chelsea fans to be locked out their FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace next month, so long as all proceeds are donated to “the people of Ukraine”.
The European champions are locked in talks with the Government over away to let supporters in for the Wembley.
But, as it stands, Chelsea are banned from selling tickets as part of the sanctions placed on Roman Abramovich for his ties to Vladimir Putin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Now Julian Knight, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee chair, has hit out at the possibility of supporters being denied the chance to be at the showpiece occasion.
He said in a statement: “It is ridiculous that we face the prospect of a half full Wembley for the Chelsea vs Palace FA cup semi-final.
“Chelsea is more than just its owner, it’s a living organism with huge importance to its fans and community.
“It was understandable that, at short notice, last week’s game against Middlesbrough went ahead without Chelsea fans but, with this much notice, the FA have no excuse for excluding them.
“The FA must be allowed to sell tickets to Chelsea fans so long as all money goes to the people of Ukraine.”
Under the licence granted to Chelsea following the sanctioning of Abramovich, they are not allowed to sell tickets or merchandise and have limits on what they can spend to host or travel to matches.
The club’s hierarchy have been in constant contact with the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation in a bid to have the terms eased.
Under the current restrictions, they are also set to have to play the home leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid behind closed doors.
The Government have been open to the idea of selling tickets through the Premier League or FA as a workaround. But Chelsea fear the current terms are in danger of plunging them into financial peril, with proceeds from ticket sales a key part of their revenue.
There remains hope that the international break will provide an opportunity for a change in the licence – but another potential stumbling block is the sheer amount of sanctioned parties the OFSI are having to process aside from Abramovich following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Last week Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced 370 more sanctions, taking the number of designated individuals or entities to more than 1000 under the Russia sanctions regime.
