Chelsea Supporters’ Trust accuses club of ‘penny-pinching’ and SLAM ‘appalling decision’ to scrap fans’ subsidized bus travel after spending nearly £1BILLION on players
- Chelsea has abolished the £10 coach subsidy for away games
- Chelsea Supporters’ Trust has strongly criticized the decision
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The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust (CST) has accused the club of “penny pinching” for rejecting the “appalling” decision to abolish the coach’s subsidy for travel to domestic away matches.
Chelsea announced on Tuesday that it will scrap the £10 coach subsidy for away games.
The decision drew a furious reaction from CST, who noted the club’s generosity in the transfer window.
“Breaking the British transfer record twice a year is fine, but with a £10 coach funded, Chelsea draws the line,” read a social media post.
Chelsea have spent more than £900 million since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over from Roman Abramovich 18 months ago.
The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust (CST) has accused the club of “penny pinching” after Chelsea withdrew a £10 grant for bus travel to away games.
The CST noted that Chelsea were happy to break the UK transfer record twice in seven months, but were unwilling to help make travel to away games more affordable.
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Earlier this month, the Brighton Blues signed Moises Caicedo in a UK-record £115 million deal, breaking the £105 million record they set in January when they signed Enzo Fernandez.
“It appears that during a crisis over the cost of living, Chelsea FC is eager to increase the financial burden for many supporters through budget cuts,” CST said in a statement.
The appalling decision will force those who depend on the service to pay significantly more to travel to away games.
Unfortunately, despite protests from the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust and coach users, Chelsea Football Club have decided that maintaining the £10 grant is not “financially sustainable”.
It is important to note that this decision was made in the same year that the club broke the transfer record twice. It is rumored that the budget for the coach grant was around £250,000.’
The CST said it met with the club earlier this month to discuss the matter and warned supporters using the club’s coaches may no longer have to travel to away games.
“Earlier this month, the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust met with club officials following online rumors that the coaching subsidy for the 2023/24 season would be abolished,” the club said.
CFC made it clear that no decision had been made at the time, but confirmed that they were reviewing the grant budget.
Chelsea have spent more than £900 million since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over from Roman Abramovich 18 months ago
“During the meeting, The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust made a protest to the club.”
However, despite the feedback, Chelsea went ahead with the decision, which the CST described as ‘totally unacceptable’.
It added that the decision to scrap the subsidy risks having a negative impact on young and vulnerable supporters, as well as fans facing a cost-of-living crisis or who use wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
“Friday the CST met again with the club to communicate that at a time when they should be taking active steps to make football affordable for more people, the decision to completely scrap the subsidy is totally unacceptable,” said the club.
“This decision also contradicts the commitment to inclusiveness that the club guaranteed during the takeover talks last spring.”
Chelsea said they will deploy coaches to selected men’s and women’s matches, the first of which will be provided for the trip to Bournemouth on September 17.
The cost of the trip is £29, but the CST has agreed to part-fund the grant, reducing the fare to £10.
The club has been approached for comment.
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