Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher has been spotted at Wembley Stadium despite the Blues having rejected Crystal Palace’s request for him to play in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final. The two teams come together at the national stadium with both understandably keen to book themselves a ticket to May’s showpiece final.
After starring on-loan with the Eagles so far this season, the terms of Gallagher's loan prevent him from appearing against his parent club on Sunday. The decision will of course be a huge disappointment for the midfielder - as well as Palace - with the Croydon side having seen an appeal for him to be made eligible rejected by the Blues.
Despite the decision, Gallagher still elected to travel down to Wembley with his adoptive teammates and soak up the pre-match atmosphere at the national stadium. He was spotted on the pitch ahead of kick-off in his Crystal Palace tracksuit.
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The midfielder then made a bee-line for supporters, even affording time to take photographs, with some supporters understandably slightly anxious ahead of kick-off, especially without one of their star performers.
Ahead of the clash, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel revealed that he personally apologised for Gallagher missing out on what is sure to be a memorable occasion.
He said: “We met some weeks ago, we met after the international break by coincidence, in a restaurant, and we had a chat, and the subject came up. And I apologised!
“Because I know how competitive he is and I know his character, I like him a lot and it was a pleasure to have him here in pre-season.
“We play to win the game, the rules were clear when we made the loan. I can totally understand the disappointment of Conor, but these were the rules when we made the loan and we don’t want to suffer from our rules.”
