London (AP) – 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 a statement on Tuesday, the club asked the English Football Association FA to allow the quarter-final game in the FA Cup at Middlesbrough FC planned for March 19 to take place behind closed doors for reasons of “sporting integrity”. There was initially no reaction from the FA to the request.
Exclusion of all viewers “the fairest way”
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 the German coach Thomas Tuchel and the national players Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Antonio Rüdiger want to stay in contact with the responsible authorities and find a solution for the other games of the season.
The reaction at second division FC Middlesbrough was clear: the Chelsea request was “bizarre and unjustified”, according to a statement from the club on Tuesday afternoon. “To suggest that MFC and our fans should be penalized is not only grossly unfair but also completely unfounded,” the statement continued.
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.