26 October 2023 , 15:46
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Chelsea supporters have slammed the decision to move their clash with Wolves to Christmas Eve.
The Premier League announced its fixture amendments for the festive period on Thursday and confirmed the clash at Molineux would be moved to 1pm on December 24, and will be shown live on Sky Sports.
The match will be the first Premier League encounter to be played on Christmas Eve in 28 years and the decision has been met with a lot of criticism from football fans.
The Chelsea Supporters Trust branded the fixture change "totally unacceptable" in a statement, adding: "Since rumours began to circulate on this issue, the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust has been clear that selecting this kick-off time will place another hurdle in the way of many match-going supporters.
“Not only could this lead to staffing issues at Molineux, but holiday transport timetables will further inconvenience supporters. On Tuesday 24 October, we requested an urgent meeting with the relevant decision-makers within the Premier League. We expect that this meeting will be held very soon, alongside the Wolves 1877 Trust, and the Football Supporters’ Association.
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“The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust will formally request that the Premier League properly consults supporters on this issue and that they reverse this decision. We will provide a further update to CST members in due course.”
The Football Supporters’ Association described the switch for the game as “shocking” and claimed money was being prioritised over fans. The last top-flight fixture played on Christmas Eve was Leeds' win over Manchester United in 1995.
An FSA statement read: “The Premier League has delivered an early present which no-one actually wanted in the shape of a Christmas Eve fixture.
“The FSA and our supporters groups have consistently told the league this is a bad idea and they have totally ignored match-goers. They’ve put money first, fans last, and we’ll be looking at ways to make that crystal clear to the Premier League and TV companies.
“It’s shocking scheduling and we’re in discussion with our members at Chelsea, Wolves and other supporters groups, on the next steps.”