After the ticket sales stop due to the sanctions against the Russian club owner Roman Abramovich, the Champions League winner FC Chelsea wants to play in the cup without spectators.
According to the announcement, the club asked the English Football Association FA to allow the quarter-final game in the FA Cup at Middlesbrough FC planned for Saturday to take place behind closed doors for reasons of “sporting integrity”. There was initially no reaction from the FA to the request.
In the club’s opinion, excluding all spectators is “the fairest way under the current conditions”. The club is well aware of the impact of such a decision on opposing fans and their own supporters who had already bought tickets before the ban.
The club of German coach Thomas Tuchel wants to stay in contact with the responsible authorities and find a solution for the other games of the season.
The Londoners are also not allowed to transfer players because of the sanctions against Abramovich and had to close all fan shops.
The British government had imposed the strict measures against the owner because of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. Chelsea are allowed to continue playing thanks to a special license from the British government.