The Football Association has said it is working on a way of allowing Chelsea fans to buy tickets for the club’s FA Cup semi-final match at Wembley despite sanctions against its Russian owner.
Chelsea has been told it cannot sell new tickets and merchandise from its store after restrictions were imposed by the government on Roman Abramovich over his links to Vladimir Putin’s regime.
But Julian Knight, chairman of the digital, culture, media and sport select committee, said it was “ridiculous” that Wembley would be half-full for the showpiece occasion next month.
He said: “Chelsea is more than just its owner, it’s a living organism with huge importance to its fans and community.”
Chelsea were facing the prospect of facing Crystal Palace next month with none of their fans present in the 90,000 capacity stadium.
But the FA later said in a statement that it was now hoping for a sell-out crowds.
“We are working with the government on a method to achieve this whilst respecting the sanctions that are currently in place on Chelsea.”
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The sanctions had already resulted in limited numbers travelling to Middlesbrough for Chelsea’s quarter final victory on Saturday.
Chelsea requested prior to the game that it should be played behind closed doors in the interests of “sporting integrity” – a request that was withdrawn after intense criticism.
Mr Abramovich is now trying to sell Chelsea in what has become a fiercely-contested auction including bidders such as London-based property developer Nick Candy and a consortium led by LA Dodgers owner Todd Boehly.
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The club’s sale is being overseen by US bank Raine Group which is currently attempting to narrow down the list of more than a dozen bidders to two or three.
A decision on that shortlist is expected either on Monday evening or early on Tuesday and the process to sell the club is likely to take at least another month.
