Manchester United fans have been left baffled after the club confirmed that the visitor allocation for the match against Chelsea later this month has been drastically reduced.
United travel to London to take on The Blues on Saturday 22 October.
And as the two clubs battle it out in the Premier League for fourth place, the number of traveling fans appears to have become an issue.
Chelsea v MUFC confirmed for 5:30pm on October 22nd. Police wanted to reduce MU’s allocation from 2,994 to 1,500. MU objected. Now at 2,370. MU feels this is unfair as tickets are already allocated.
— Andy Mitten (@AndyMitten) October 7, 2022
The FA have confirmed that a kick-off time of 17:30 BST has been agreed, taking into account television rights and surveillance.
But the Metropolitan Police had suggested that the away fans allowed to attend be reduced due to concerns, and the allocation was halved.
With 2,994 away tickets already allocated to Manchester United fans, police suggested that only 1,500 should be allowed in attendance due to concerns over match surveillance.
And with proposed rail strikes that may affect the day’s travel, the Met had to meet United in the middle after they opposed the proposal.
With an agreed reduced figure of 2,370, United will still have to disappoint the 624 lucky fans who succeeded in voting and thought they would be at Stamford Bridge for the match.
And United had to fight for goals, arguing that such a late decision to cut attendance was unfair.
The uncertainty surrounding the time and date was due to Chelsea’s Champions League commitments.
And the decision means the Red Devils now have to find a way to treat fans fairly when it comes to redistributing tickets.
But an email sent to United ticket holders explained that while there is no fair way to do it, more than 600 disappointed fans will lose in 12 days.
Instead, the club offered those disgruntled fans the option of attending a separate game at a later date.
According to The Manchester Evening News, “Fans who choose to return their seat for the game at Stamford Bridge can get a full refund on the ticket they originally purchased or can instead get a guaranteed ticket to an away game against Aston.” Villa, Fulham, Wolves or Arsenal.
