LONDON, ENGLAND - Sunday, September 22, 2019: Chelsea's Tammy Abraham (L) and Liverpool's Joel Matip during the FA Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC at Stamford Bridge. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Chelsea restrict Liverpool’s ticket allocation for FA Cup tie – below standard 15%

Chelsea have restricted Liverpool’s ticket allocation for the FA Cup fifth-round clash at Stamford Bridge, and have insisted that “will not change.”

The Reds set up a trip to west London when Neil Critchley and the club’s youngest-ever side secured a 1-0 win over Shrewsbury in the fourth-round replay.

It was a marker of the quality in Liverpool’s academy, and the power of Anfield, with a sold-out crowd roaring the youngsters on and intimidating their opposition.

That will not be a factor for the next round, given it is an away fixture, but Chelsea have now limited the impact of the travelling Kop too.

Liverpool announced ticket information for the March 3 clash on Tuesday morning, and revealed that the Blues have provided just 5,466 seats for visiting supporters.

This is almost 800 fewer than the Reds would have expected for Chelsea‘s 41,631-seater stadium.

The club confirmed they had “challenged [Chelsea] on why the number is less than the standard 15 percent FA Cup allocation.”

“[We] have been informed that the decision to have a reduced allocation is made by Chelsea’s Safety Advisory Group and based on a number of factors,” they explained.

Chelsea said that the decision is final and will not change.”

LONDON, ENGLAND - Sunday, September 22, 2019: Chelsea's manager Frank Lampard applauds the supporters after the FA Premier League match between Chelsea's FC and Liverpool FC at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool won 2-1. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

This comes after Chelsea were forced to reduce prices for their own fans for this fixture, following pressure from the Chelsea Supporters Trust (CST) after a 35 percent increase was originally implemented.

“There is no past precedence when the club have increased FA Cup ticket prices from the figure that was outlined in the clubs ticket policy at the start of the season,” a CST statement wrote.

“The CST is once again dismayed by the continued disregard shown towards match-going supporters, who have been subjected to expensive and challenging travel arrangements throughout this season.”

Chelsea responded by dropping the price from £40 to the originally advertised £30, with a tails-between-legs statement confirming this was “in response to concerns raised by supporters.”

LONDON, ENGLAND - Sunday, May 6, 2018: Liverpool supporters during the FA Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC at Stamford Bridge. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

The movement was described by Liverpool supporters’ group Spirit of Shankly as a “big win for fans.”

This, however, cannot be considered a big win for Liverpool supporters, who were already restricted from watching the replay against Shrewsbury after the FA opted against issuing rights to worldwide broadcasters.