Manchester United manager Marc Skinner has criticised the English Football Association (FA) for its meagre awarding of 7,500 tickets for his side’s women’s FA Cup final clash with Chelsea at Wembley on 14 May.
United booked their ticket to an historic FA Cup final appearance with a thrilling 3-2 win over Brighton & Hove Albion. Defending champions Chelsea secured their third successive final appearance with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa.
The heady final between the title rivals is set to be played in front of 65,000 at Wembley and smash the domestic attendance record. Last year’s final between Chelsea and Manchester City registered a crowd of 49,094.
But Skinner has voiced his incredulity at the FA’s chosen ticketing allocation.
"I don't know how many it is in the men's game, but to give clubs like Chelsea and Manchester United 8,000 tickets to sell, it's just crazy in my opinion," Skinner said during a press conference on Tuesday.
"I don't know how it works in all honesty, I haven't really looked into it but to give two massive clubs 8,000 tickets is, as I say, crazy -- that is as simple as I can put it."
Last season’s men’s FA Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool saw both teams allocated 30,500 tickets each.
Attendances for WSL fixtures have exponentially increased over the course of the season, with United Women routinely seeing over 5,000 turning out for home games at Leigh Sports Village.
When handed the opportunity to play in front of larger crowds, United have relished the platform. A crowd of 27,919 turned out for United’s WSL clash against West Ham United at Old Trafford last month, a number just shy of the record 30,000 in attendance for United’s 5-0 thrashing of Aston Villa at the Theatre of Dreams in December this season.
Meanwhile, a crowd of 40,000 watched United's tub-thumping league 3-2 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates earlier this season.
United currently sit top of the WSL table having played a game more than their title rivals in Chelsea and Arsenal but just three points separate the top three sides.
Skinner’s side face the Gunners in a potential title decider on Wednesday evening as the WSL returns to action following the international break.
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