CHELSEA believe they WILL be able to play their Champions League quarter-final AND have fans both home and away supporting them.
The European champions have been banned from selling home and away match tickets as a result of owner Roman Abramovich being sanctioned by the UK government.
The Russian had his assets frozen due to his ties with president Vladimir Putin, who ordered the invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Chelsea booked their place in the quarter-finals of the competition they’re looking to win in back-to-back seasons.
A defiant 4-1 win on aggregate over French champions Lille sent them into the next round.
However, there were concerns whether the tie could be allowed to take place after the European Union joined the government in sanctioning Abramovich.
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Uefa is almost certain to agree to let Chelsea continue in the competition, especially as Europe’s governing body could now demand any ticket receipts to help Ukrainian refugee and humanitarian efforts.
Booting the Blues out would also impact on the current broadcasting deals, with UEFA facing demands for a rebate which would run into tens of millions of pounds.
And SunSport understands that Chelsea believe the licence they were given by the government to continue operating will be loosened.
That would mean the Blues would be able to have fans for both legs of the Champions League tie.
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And Uefa have indicated to the club that they will follow the stance of the UK government when it comes to ticket sales.
Chelsea’s next home match against Brentford on April 3 was sold out before the sanctions against Abramovich were announced last week.
That buys time for discussions between the club and the government over loosening some of the restrictions in the current operating licence.
The expectation is that new ticket sales will be permitted as long as the money raised is kept away from funds Abramovich can access.
Varying the licence will allow Chelsea to sell tickets to visiting fans for the remaining for Premier League games at Stamford Bridge and allow blues supporters to buy seats for their final away matches.