Key events
The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust has released a statement regarding visiting supporters after last night’s Conference League semi-final second leg with Djurgården at Stamford Bridge.
During Thursday’s Uefa Conference League vs. Djurgården, a huge number of away supporters were able to infiltrate large areas of the home end.
This is the most serious breach of stadium security in recent memory, and it significantly undermines any security protocols Chelsea FC put in place ahead of the fixture.
As a result, the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust will formally write a letter of complaint to Chelsea FC’s COO and Head of Security. We will call for a formal investigation by the club into the ticket sales process and Chelsea FC’s security response during the match.
The findings of this investigation and any subsequent recommendations must be made available to supporters.
The CST invites all supporters who attended the fixture on Thursday to submit written, photographic, and video evidence they captured during the fixture.
The CST will then collate this evidence and then submit it to Chelsea FC.
It is important to note that the CST shared concerns with senior club officials over the vulnerability of home areas ahead of this fixture. No supporter should feel unsafe while at Stamford Bridge, and the CST will do everything to ensure that a full and proper explanation is issued to supporters and safeguards are put in place to ensure that this situation is not repeated in the future.
Preamble
Let’s be honest: this is really, really funny. Manchester United and Tottenham have had a shocking time in the league this season (15th and 16th respectively, 35 defeats between them, record-breaking stuff in a bad way).
And yet here they are, ready to compete in a European final. Spurs could win their first major trophy in 17 years. A United victory would make it three consecutive seasons of silverware; even in crisis, they somehow find a way to compete.
Which leads to a genuine question regarding fandom. Would you rather opt for a season of solidity, excellent football to go with grand results but no trophy pay-off (Arsenal), or a year of misery until a glorious and triumphant day out at Wembley etc? I’m leaning towards the former but would be interested to hear from others.
Drop me a line with your thoughts on that and any other matters as we build up to another weekend of, let’s face it, rather inconsequential Premier League action.