Chelsea fanbase express relief after Blues make U-turn on 'terrible' FA Cup request

Chelsea fans have expressed relief after the club performed a U-turn on their attempts to have their FA Cup clash with Middlesbrough played behind closed doors.

Following sanctions imposed on Roman Abramovich, Chelsea are unable to sell matchday tickets, including for away games such as the quarter-final. On Tuesday they released a statement confirming the request for the Riverside clash to be played without fans.

The Blues cited concerns over "sporting integrity" claiming their Championship opponents could gain an unfair advantage if the 4,000 Chelsea fans previously expected to make the trip were not allowed in. However, they were met by a firm backlash from Boro, their chairman Steve Gibson, as well as their own fans.

It was not a big surprise then when the FA released a statement on Tuesday evening, confirming that Chelsea had withdrawn their request. They wrote: "After constructive talks between The FA and Chelsea, the club has agreed to remove their request for the Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final tie against Middlesbrough to be played behind closed doors.

"The FA remains in ongoing discussions with Chelsea, the Premier League and the Government to find a solution that would enable both Chelsea fans to attend games and away fans to attend Stamford Bridge, whilst ensuring sanctions are respected."

Former Chelsea defender Graeme Le Saux was also scathing in his assessment of the request, dubbing it "embarrassing." Upon hearing news of the withdrawal, plenty of supporters expressed relief.

said: "I mean thank god Chelsea removed the request coz it was embarrassing."

said: "Terrible decision in the first place."

said: "In all fairness Chels. We should never have requested it in the first place. Glad the request