Chelsea request Boro FA Cup game to be played behind closed doors

Chelsea have requested their FA Cup quarter-final at Middlesbrough this weekend is played behind closed doors amid their ongoing ban over selling matchday tickets.

In a statement on the club’s website, they wrote: “It is important for the competition that the match against Middlesbrough goes ahead, however it is with extreme reluctance that we are asking the FA board to direct that the game be played behind closed doors for matters of sporting integrity.

“Chelsea FC recognises that such an outcome would have a huge impact on Middlesbrough and its supporters, as well as our own fans who have already bought the limited number of tickets that were sold before the licence was imposed, but we believe this is the fairest way of proceeding in the current circumstances.”

More to follow…

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