CHELSEA and Manchester United’s Premier League match has finally been scheduled for 5.30pm on October 22.
But due to policing issues, United have had to cut their away ticketing allocation from 2,994 to 2,370.
A statement read: “In recent days we have been in consultation with the Premier League and Chelsea FC after the Metropolitan Police proposed a reduction in our away allocation due to policing concerns.
“The police initially sought to cut our allocation from 2,994 to 1,500. We have strongly opposed any reduction and worked with Chelsea to present a range of mitigations to the local Safety Advisory Group, which we believe could have allowed the game to proceed safely with our full allocation of fans.
“Unfortunately, the police have continued to insist on a reduction. However, we have succeeded in increasing the allocation to 2,370.
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“While we are very disappointed by this outcome and believe it is unjustified, it is clear it is a final decision.
“We are now urgently considering options for how to manage the removal of 624 tickets from the original allocation which had already been agreed with Chelsea and sold.
“We will send further communications to supporters on Monday, outlining our approach. In the meantime, we strongly advise against booking travel.
“Everyone at Manchester United shares the inevitable disappointment and frustration about both the reduced allocation, and the long delay in confirming arrangements for this game.
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“Over recent years, we have made significant progress in protecting away ticket allocations for our fans and we can assure you that we will continue to fight for this in future.”
According to The Athletic, the game was originally scheduled for Sunday, October 23 at 4.30pm.
But the match had to be moved due to Chelsea’s Champions League tie on the following Tuesday.
It was moved by a day but faced difficulty scheduling it as it was selected for a Sky Sports broadcast slot.
So it will now be played at 5.30pm, leading to the Metropolitan Police proposing a reduction in the number of away fans.
The sides could not be separated in the league last season, following a pair of 1-1 draws.
Now both sides have new managers, Graham Potter at Chelsea and Erik ten Hag with United.
The Blues are currently one point above Ten Hag’s side, with Arsenal league leaders, one point above champions City.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
