Middlesbrough described a request on Tuesday by sanctions-hit Chelsea to have this weekend’s FA Cup quarter-final tie played behind closed doors as “bizarre and without any merit”. The Premier League club want Saturday’s game at the Riverside played in an empty stadium after the British government blocked them from making new ticket sales, with only existing ticket holders allowed to attend matches. The Blues have pushed ministers for relaxations to the strict operating licence put in place after Russian owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned last week as part of a set of punitive measures following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta
