British MP defends Chelsea can sell tickets and criticizes restrictions

condition Chelsea You get new chapters every day. After the club and its owner Roman Abramovich Suffering from sanctions from the British government, such as the inability to sign players and sell tickets, the head of the British Parliament’s Committee for Culture, Media and Sport, Julian Knight, said on Monday that fans should be allowed to buy tickets for the semi-finals. – FA Cup final.

Chelsea have faced restrictions on its operations since Abramovich was sanctioned by the British government over his political and personal involvement with the Russian president. Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Right now, the government is only allowing the club to continue playing its matches and paying its staff. In addition, he also began to control the sale of the club, which Abramovich announced before the sanctions.

“It is absurd that we should be faced with the possibility of Wembley halving Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final against Palace,” Knight, chairman of the parliamentary committee on culture, media and sport, said. “Chelsea is more than just its owner, it is a living being of great importance to its fans and its community.”

“But with plenty of notice, the FA has no excuse for excluding them. The FA should be able to sell tickets to Chelsea fans, as long as all the money goes to the people of Ukraine.” In the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, the club was not allowed to sell its full load of tickets for the duel against Middlesbrough. Chelsea even considered the match to be played behind closed doors, but withdrew the request after criticism from the public.

The FA, which organizes the FA Cup, said it was working with the government to ensure tickets were sold while “respecting the sanctions” imposed on Chelsea and the licensing limits the club has. An FA spokesperson said: “We expect to sell out both the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium. This includes tickets for Chelsea fans for the match against Crystal Palace.”