Arsenal vs Chelsea: Blues fans turn on club over Europa League final
Chelsea Supporters’ Trust criticises club for lack of support in travelling to Baku
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Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea is facing a backlash from fans over the club’s ‘unwillingness’ to help supporters travel to the Europa League final.
The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust said next week’s showdown in Baku had presented fans with a number of “unprecedented challenges” in terms of cost and travel arrangements, and criticised the club for their apparent lack of support.
The CST also accused official travel partner Thomas Cook of charging an “extortionate” price for flight packages to Azerbaijan.
In a statement released on Friday, CST said: “We are extremely disappointed that Chelsea FC have been unable or unwilling to help Chelsea supporters overcome the travel, expense and logistics in order for them to support the team in a European final. The lack of a statement from Chelsea FC is also disappointing.
“Arsenal FC issued a statement expressing frustration and disappointment on behalf of their supporters; acknowledging the unsuitability of the venue, the challenges faced by supporters travelling to Baku and the need to ensure more care by Uefa in future venue selection.
“While this may not make any difference to Uefa's immediate decision-making, at the very least it sent out a message to their supporters that they were concerned about the difficulties they face and were on their side.
“A similar statement from Chelsea would have engendered some much-needed goodwill from the supporters.”
So far only around 1,500 of the original 6,000 tickets allocated to Chelsea for the final have been sold to season-ticket holders or members. Arsenal have sold 4,000 of their tickets to fans.
Thomas Cook’s travel packages for the game are priced at £979 and consist of flights to and from Baku, as well as bus transport to and from the stadium. The cost of the match ticket is not included in the package.
Of Thomas Cook’s packages, the CST told ESPN: “They’re obscenely priced.
“I would go as far as to say they’re exploitative.
“They pay Chelsea a lot of money so they can fleece the fans, and that’s exactly what they’re doing. It just shows that we’re cannon fodder to be exploited and the club are complicit in that.”
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