A first step towards better days? This is what Chelsea supporters can hope for, as they are allowed into Wembley on the weekend of April 16 and 17 for the match against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-final. The English club suffered, for ten days already, the sanctions taken by the British government against Roman Abramovich.
The Russian owner has seen his assets in Britain frozen, which include the Chelsea club. This prevents the reigning European champion from marketing new places for his meetings. In Middlesbrough last Saturday, only 700 supporters were able to access the stadium out of the 4,500 seats allocated to the club. These 700 people had already purchased their ticket before the sanctions were imposed.
For the framework of the semi-finals of the FA Cup, played on neutral ground at Wembley, it is the English federation which can market the places. The latter thus explained that it was in communication with the British government in order to arrange the special license granted to Chelsea. “Despite this license the English Federation has no excuse to exclude the fans. The FA must be allowed to sell the tickets as long as they ensure that all money donated goes to the Ukrainian people,” said Julian Knight, chairman of the digital, culture, media and sport committee. The club currently on sale has seen several offers analyzed in recent hours.