Manchester United are "very disappointed" that their away allocation for the Premier League trip to Chelsea later this month has been slashed after an intervention from the Metropolitan Police.
The Premier League has finally confirmed the game will kick-off at 5.30pm on Saturday, October 22. releasing a kick-off time just 15 days before a trip to London.
United had already sold their away allocation of 2,994 tickets for the game but they've seen their allocation cut, despite holding discussions with Chelsea and the Met Police.
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The force wanted to reduce the away allocation due to "policing concerns" and wanted it almost halved to just 1,500 away fans at Stamford Bridge.
United have managed to fight back against that proposal but have had to accept that the Met's decision to reduce the number of away supporters in attendance is now final.
Having already sold tickets the club are now planning to make contact with those supporters on Monday to outline their approach.
In a letter to supporters, United said: "In recent days we have been in consultation with the Premier League and Chelsea FC after the Metropolitan Police proposed a reduction in our away allocation due to policing concerns.
"The police initially sought to cut our allocation from 2,994 to 1,500. We have strongly opposed any reduction and worked with Chelsea to present a range of mitigations to the local Safety Advisory Group, which we believe could have allowed the game to proceed safely with our full allocation of fans.
"Unfortunately, the police have continued to insist on a reduction. However, we have succeeded in increasing the allocation to 2,370.
"While we are very disappointed by this outcome and believe it is unjustified, it is clear it is a final decision. We are now urgently considering options for how to manage the removal of 624 tickets from the original allocation which had already been agreed with Chelsea and sold.
"We will send further communications on Monday outlining our approach. In the meantime, we strongly advise against booking travel.
"We have turned off ticket forwarding for this game. If you are unable to attend the match, please contact 0161 676 7770. However, please be aware that the contact centre does not have any additional information and will be unable to discuss the situation with you.
"Everyone at Manchester United shares the inevitable disappointment and frustration about both the reduced allocation, and the long delay in confirming arrangements for this game. Over recent years, we have made significant progress in protecting away ticket allocations for our fans and we can assure you that we will continue to fight for this in future."
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