Chelsea allowed to sell tickets again after government tweaks restrictions

After several weeks of talks, the British government has eased the terms of the special license Chelsea have been operating under since Roman Abramovich was sanctioned and his assets in the UK frozen.

Chelsea had been banned from selling tickets as part of the sanctions and supporters had feared they would be unable to watch their club take on Crystal Palace at Wembley and Real Madrid in the last eight of the Champions League.

But the government has been keen to find a way to ensure away fans can travel to Stamford Bridge, as well as avoiding a half-empty stadium for the FA Cup semi-final.

As a result of the tweaks to the special license, away clubs will now be allowed to buy tickets for Premier League and European matches at Chelsea, while the west Londoners will also be allowed to sell tickets for away matches.

They will also be able to sell both home and away tickets for matches in the Champions League, FA Cup and Women’s Super League competitions.

That means sell-out crowds are expected at Wembley for the clash with Crystal Palace, as well as at Stamford Bridge and the Bernabeu for Chelsea’s quarter-final tie with Real Madrid.

However, the terms of the restrictions do not allow Chelsea to sell any more home tickets for Premier League matches, though those matches were already close to capacity with season-ticket holders having bought their seats before the ban came into effect.

None of the funds from the ticket sales will be allowed to go to Chelsea, with the club only allowed to ‘act as an agent’.

Chelsea will have to transfer funds to a ‘permitted third party’, which is believed to be the Premier League for all away league tickets – both at Stamford Bridge and other domestic venues – the FA for the semi-final tickets and UEFA for the Champions League tickets.

In the case of both the Premier League and FA, there is an expectation that the funds raised from the ticket sales will go to charity.