‘What on earth were they thinking?’ – Gary Lineker slams Chelsea as fans left in shock at their Middlesbrough request
GARY LINEKER slammed Chelsea for proposing their FA Cup tie with Middlesbrough be played behind closed doors.
The Blues face Middlesbrough at the Riverside in Saturday's late kick-off.
But Chelsea fans who did not purchase a ticket before Roman Abramovich was hit with sanctions will not be able to attend, with the club pressing the Government to change its mind.
With Chelsea in ongoing talks with the Government they put out a statement requesting the game be played without ANY fans - including those supporting Boro - for the sake of "sporting integrity".
But after backlash from fans and media personalities like Lineker Chelsea backtracked and withdrew their request in a humiliating U-turn.
Lineker supported that decision but asked questions over who came up with the proposal in the first place.
He wrote on : "So Chelsea have now removed their request for the FA Cup tie at Middlesbrough to be played behind closed doors. The right move.
"Not sure whose idea it was to make the request in the first place. What on earth were they thinking?"
A statement from Middlesbrough was damning, reading: "All concerned are well aware of the reasons Chelsea have been sanctioned and that this has nothing to do with Middlesbrough Football Club.
"To suggest as result that Middlesbrough and our fans should be penalised is not only grossly unfair but without any foundation.
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"Given the reasons for these sanctions, for Chelsea to seek to invoke sporting "integrity" as reason for the game being played behind closed doors is ironic in the extreme.
"We currently await formal notification from the FA of the next steps but rest assured Middlesbrough will resist Chelsea's actions in the strongest terms."
Many fans were in agreement with Lineker and criticised Chelsea for their outlook.
One fan wrote on Twitter: "The audacity of an official statement from Chelsea asking for Middlesbrough fans (whose club have got no part of this whole saga whatsoever) to be unable to go to an FA Cup Quarter-Final in their own ground is absolutely stunning.
"I can’t believe they’ve actually said it."
Another added: "That statement from Chelsea just proves why most fans can’t stand them."
A third said: "The lack of self-awareness in that Chelsea statement."