Simon Jordan blasts Chelsea as club release statement regarding Middlesbrough match

Middlesbrough take on Premier League side Chelsea on Saturday in an FA Cup Quarter Final game. 

However, due to the recent sanctions on Chelsea’s owner Roman Abramovich which saw his assets frozen, including Chelsea FC, it has consequently meant Chelsea have been unsuccessful in getting more away tickets for their fans meaning they won’t be able to fill their allocation.

As a result, Chelsea have requested that the FA allow the fixture to be played behind closed doors meaning they’d be no Middlesbrough or Chelsea fans. The request has sparked a lot of controversy over how fair it is especially as Chelsea cited they wanted it done for sporting integrity purposes.

Former Crystal Palace Chairman Simon Jordan believes this is an unfair move and has criticised the request from Chelsea as he told talkSPORT: “We are the ones that have got the ownership model which is compromised, so what we are going to do is go to a Championship club that needs the money and we are going to say ‘you can have none from gate receipts because we are the ones that are being compromised.’

“What a ridiculous argument. Are Chelsea going to ask to have no fans in their games at home then?

“Shall I tell you how the sporting landscape evens up? You’ve got a playing team that’s worth about £1billion and Middlesbrough have got a team that’s worth a packet of gobstoppers by comparison.

“The sporting integrity can even up there. You don’t need your fans in the stadium to have your big time players overcome Middlesbrough.”

The Verdict:

Jordan is clearly very emotional about the situation and he mades some really fair comments. For Chelsea to be claiming this in the name of sporting integrity seems very ironic.

Chelsea are essentially trying to cause