Archive October 2, 2025

Things should be looking forward for Chelsea’s ownership and supporters, who are just two wins away from winning the Club World Cup, a win in the Conference League, a return to Champions League football, and unprecedented investment in the squad.

However, after a month into the season, relations between the club’s leadership and the fan base have deteriorated.

The main concerns are with the sale of tickets, particularly the resale of tickets and the promotion of in-demand games.

Chelsea’s decision to raise the price of Champions League tickets is a source of annoyance.

The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust (CST) noted that the Benfica game’s ticket prices increased by 77.5% from the previous year’s Conference League semi-final against Djurgarden.

It expressed concern over reduced concessions for seniors and children and criticized the club’s lack of transparency when it announced price increases so soon.

The CST expressed “deep concern” with the club’s approach to upcoming Champions League games.

Recent decisions have been characterized by poor communication, unreasonable price increases, and supporter silence. Stop tarnishing our loyalty, we are told.

Many people have raised concerns about the Stamford Bridge atmosphere, including former manager Enzo Maresca, who frequently made comments about it last season.

Maresca shares Jose Mourinho’s provocative 2014 statement that playing at Stamford Bridge was “like playing inside an empty stadium.”

Fans will soon be able to enjoy a 500-person singing section at Champions League games this year to help them revive the atmosphere.

Multiple fans told BBC Sport that the high prices, limited ticket sales, and touting continue to detract from the matchday experience when questioned about their opinions.

Young supporters have trouble getting tickets, with Chelsea’s fanbase reaching 59 years old, which is the oldest in the Premier League.

I understand the disconnect between supply and demand, according to CST chair Mark Meehan. A Chelsea ticket has never been more difficult to obtain. Something is obviously not working.

The issue of touting is a Premier League wide issue, but Chelsea’s position on it is actually one that is significant. Last season, out-of-town gangs snared the ticket market.

Up to 2, 000 tickets are said to be sold at Chelsea each game. That frees up tickets for young members if you make a dent in that.

For their Champions League four-game bundle, Chelsea recently discovered 2, 000 tickets that had been purchased in violation of the rules and have since been canceled.

For the first game of the season, the Blues also received 350, 000 attempted bot purchases.

On policies that address touts, the club and CST are in general agreement.

If a touted fan enters the stadium with the exact seat number, Meehan added, “We need supporters in the stadium to email the club rather than complain on social media.” In this area, we must collaborate with the club.

Members and non-members were the only ones who purchased the cheapest adult tickets for this week’s Benfica Champions League game, which cost $ 66. For Category A games, Arsenal must charge a minimum of £78, while Tottenham must charge £71.

Sources at Chelsea said their price increases reflected English football trends, according to BBC Sport.

The elected fan advisory board, which includes supporters’ group members, was consulted before the ticketing policy was made public, and fans can get a cheaper rate by purchasing a bundle for all four home games against Benfica, Ajax, Barcelona, and Pafos.

In addition to expanding their 40, 000-seat stadium, Chelsea are special because they have a particularly high demand for matches under the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital ownership.

The dugout club, which charges (possibly a Premier League record) £12, 500 for a single seat behind the home and away benches for big games last year, has about 28 000 season ticket holders, of which between 4 000 and 5 000 are available to members and about 3 000 are available for away supporters.

In 2024 and 2025, there were reportedly 90,000 members, but it’s not known how many of those were touts.

We are all fighting the same battle over ticket prices, according to Duncan Drasdo, CEO of Manchester United Supporters’ Trust, in a report on the overall cost of playing football last season. Fans are united in saying enough is enough, and clubs are exploiting loyalty.

Before the 2024-2019 season, 19 of the 20 Premier League clubs raised ticket prices, which prompted the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) to launch a campaign called “Stop Exploiting Loyalty.”

Safety had been “repeatedly compromised” at the Conference League semi-final second leg against Djurgarden last year, according to a report from the CST that was released this week.

It discovered that thousands of Swedish national team supporters purchased tickets from resale websites or touts, creating issues with overcrowding and inadequate police and stewards.

Fans speculated that more tickets on the black market were going to be available because Chelsea had won the first leg 4-1, resulting in lower interest among home fans.

The night’s events were described as “the most serious security lapse in recent memory” according to the report.

In order to explain how this happened, Chelsea issued a statement in the matchday program that read, “The club committed to and has conducted a full and independent review of all ticketing processes.

The fan advisory board received the findings, and we got in touch with the affected people on the night directly.

The events that occurred had a number of contributing factors that had an impact on our standard procedures for ticketing, security, and matchday operations.

Formula 1’s governing body has declared this weekend’s Grand Prix of Singapore a ‘heat hazard’ race.

Drivers may be using cooling vests during the race because of the FIA’s decision, which was brought on by forecasts exceeding 31C in the tropical environment.

Teams must fit the vests into their cars to prevent any drivers who don’t use them from benefitting from having a lighter car from wearing them, though it’s not required.

The Grand Prix of Singapore marks the first time a race has been designated as a heat hazard under a new rule that was introduced this year.

Drivers have used the vests before, but teams have been testing them intermittently throughout the year.

The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) director, George Russell of Mercedes, tested it out in Bahrain earlier this year, and he said, “Not everyone finds the top comfortable, but I think some people find it more comfortable than others, and of course you’ll be able to adjust it to your own preferences over time.

Carlos Sainz, a GPDA director, said the FIA’s decision to declare a heat hazard was “fair.”

Only hot, according to Sachin, is not bad for us. For instance, Hungary has extreme heat but it’s not humid, as we have it.

If it’s not too hot, then hummus is not all bad on its own. However, it’s difficult when it’s 28 degrees and 30 degrees plus humid.

After the race, several drivers needed medical attention, including Williams driver Logan Sargeant who couldn’t stand the conditions, and Frenchman Esteban Ocon who vomited in his helmet.

The drivers’ reactions to the vests have been mixed, with some saying they’re uncomfortable and not very effective.

Every time we run it, Sainz said, “teams are able to make it work better and better.” We initially had it work for about a half-hour or so. Hopefully, the entire system will continue to function at least for an hour.

It’s a two-hour race, they say. In Singapore, I’ve done it ten times. I’m not concerned if it malfunctions or doesn’t work. I’ll complete the race and emerge from the water as always. However, if it works, it’s better because you’ll suffer a little less.

Sainz claimed to have used the system for 15-20 minutes during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix earlier this year.

Overheating is a serious issue because drivers are wearing several layers of fireproof clothing in addition to a balaclava and helmet in an F1 car, which can reach temperatures of more than 40C.

A pump-powered tube serves as a source of cooling liquid for the driver, who is wearing a fireproof vest.

The system should operate throughout the entire race, according to the rules, but not every team has succeeded in keeping it running for that long.

And the problem is that when the system stops working, the drivers become hotter than they could otherwise be.

Because the cooling system’s vest is an insulator, the liquid can end up hotter than the car’s ambient temperature.

Depending on the individual cars, teams have taken various approaches to the system’s design and fitting.

Some places have installed the cooling system and pump inside the chassis, while others are located next to the cockpit and others are located behind it.

Russell claimed that the vest’s front and back tubes are connected and that “you can feel these tubes on the side of your ribs when you go through high-speed corners in the G-force.”

Nathan Maguire, a Brit who won the T54 1500m bronze medal at the New Delhi World Paralympics, thanked his family for supporting him in fulfilling his dream.

On the final bend, Maguire finished ahead of Marcel Hug of Switzerland and finished ahead of Jin Hua and Luo Xingchuan of China.

The 28-year-old’s bronze medal at the 2024 World Para Championships in Kobe comes in addition to the one he won in the T54 800m.

According to Maguire, “This is what I’ve dreamed of my entire career.”

“Being able to do this in front of your family is always special.

I’ve never attended a race with my parents with me because I know how much effort they put in to help me get there.

Ryan Westley of Great Britain won silver in the men’s C1 in Sydney, earning him the third individual canoe slalom medal of his career.

The 32-year-old finished 0.9 seconds behind Nicolas Green from France to improve both his Rio 2018 silver medal and bronze medal haul in 2015 London.

Westley remarked, “Everything went really well.”

There is not much I can do about it, sadly, because there was another guy on the start line who was a little better than me.

My final run was fantastic, I must say. I took a little while to get there, but once that happened, I felt really sucked in.