London, March 16 / BNA / The English Football Association announced, on Tuesday, that Chelsea retracted its request to play its FA Cup match against Middlesbrough without an audience, following a response from the second division club hosting the match.
The Premier League team has not suggested any fans as the government will not allow Chelsea to sell any tickets under the terms of its license to operate after its owner Roman Abramovich was penalized, the Associated Press reported.
“After constructive talks between the FA and Chelsea, the club has agreed to cancel its request (… the quarter-finals) to be played behind closed doors,” the Football Association said in a statement.
Chelsea said it had submitted a request to protect “Sporting Integrity” for Saturday’s match after being unable to persuade the Financial Sanctions Enforcement Office to relax its pre-match licensing terms.
Middlesbrough would have lost in revenue and would have argued that it would be “grossly unfair” to prevent their fans from going to the match at their home ground.
Abramovich’s assets were frozen after the British government imposed sanctions on him last week.
The FA added: “The FA continues its ongoing discussions with Chelsea, the Premier League and the government to find a solution that would enable Chelsea fans to attend matches and fans away from Stamford Bridge, while ensuring that sanctions are respected.”
Chelsea followed up with a brief statement: “We are grateful to the Football Association for their continued efforts to help us find a solution.”
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham was taking questions from lawmakers in London when news of Chelsea’s request broke earlier on Tuesday.
“Putting a penalty on at short notice is very complicated, and it’s all going to need to be worked through,” he said.
“I think the end state will be something where the government gives a license to let the fans go to the games. I think that was not possible in time for this weekend.”