There were no plans on Monday night to move Manchester City and Liverpool’s FA Cup semi-final from Wembley, despite there being no trains between the North West and London that weekend.
Supporters’ groups from the country’s two best clubs reacted furiously after it emerged rail engineering works meant services from Manchester and Liverpool would terminate in Milton Keynes and Rugby, respectively, for the whole of the four-day Easter Bank Holiday.
Liverpool fan group Spirit of Shankly wrote on Twitter that they and their City counterparts were “appalled at the shambolic travel arrangements”, while Kevin Parker, general secretary of the Manchester City Supporters Club, told Telegraph Sport that the Football Association “don’t care about supporters at all”.
Confirming next month’s game would remain at Wembley, an FA spokesperson said: “The FA will be liaising closely with both Liverpool FC and Manchester City FC on all match arrangements, including supporters travel for the upcoming Emirates FA Cup semi-final fixture at Wembley Stadium, with further details to be announced in due course.
“We are also continuing to work with both Network Rail and National Express to find a solution so that supporters of both teams are able to travel to and from the fixture with as minimal disruption as possible.”
An FA spokesman also confirmed it was in talks with the Government to ensure Chelsea fans could attend their semi-final against Crystal Palace.
He said: “We hope to have sell-out crowds at both of our Emirates FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley Stadium. This includes tickets for Chelsea supporters for their match against Crystal Palace, and we are working with the Government on a method to achieve this whilst respecting the sanctions that are currently in place on Chelsea.”
That was after Julian Knight MP, the chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media & Sport select committee proclaimed there was “no excuse” for stopping Chelsea fans from going to the game.
The European champions were banned from selling tickets for matches due to sanctions imposed on Roman Abramovich over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
As revealed by the Telegraph, the Government last week agreed to examine ways their fans could be allowed to attend games – including their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid – without the club receiving the revenue.
Amid ongoing talks between Whitehall officials, the FA and Uefa that could see the money generated donated to Ukrainian victims of the war, Knight said: “It is ridiculous that we face the prospect of a half full Wembley for the Chelsea vs Palace FA cup semi-final. Chelsea is more than just its owner, it’s a living organism with huge importance to its fans and community.
“The FA must be allowed to sell tickets to Chelsea fans so long as all money goes to the people of Ukraine.”
Chelsea were only able to take several hundred supporters to their quarter-final win at Middlesbrough after they bought tickets before sanctions were imposed on Abramovich.
At present, the only supporters allowed to attend their home matches are those also to have already bought tickets – including season tickets.
Season tickets do not cover cup competitions, meaning Chelsea fans could not attend their next Champions League or FA Cup games unless a solution was agreed.
