Chelsea received 'vulnerability' warning before Djugaarden fans breached Stamford Bridge home end

Chelsea fans were put at serious risk during Thursday night’s Europa Conference League win over Djugaarden. The Blues secured their place in the Conference League final by defeating the Swedish club 1-0 on Thursday night, adding to a more convincing 4-1 first leg victory.

Enzo Maresca’s men can now look forward to a trip to Wroclaw in Poland, where they will meet Spanish club Real Betis, who narrowly defeated Fiorentina 4-3 on aggregate. But while some Chelsea fans will already be planning their trip to Wroclaw, others will be impacted by the events of Thursday night.

A number of Djugaarden fans are said to have found their way into the home end during the fixture, and Chelsea Supporters’ Trust say they have previously warned the club about safety concerns. A statement read: “During Thursday’s UEFA Conference League vs. Djurgården, a huge number of away supporters were able to infiltrate large areas of the home end.

“This is the most serious breach of stadium security in recent memory, and it significantly undermines any security protocols Chelsea FC put in place ahead of the fixture. As a result, the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust will formally write a letter of complaint to Chelsea FC’s COO and Head of Security. We will call for a formal investigation by the club into the ticket sales process and Chelsea FC’s security response during the match.

“The findings of this investigation and any subsequent recommendations must be made available to supporters. The CST invites all supporters who attended the fixture on Thursday to submit written, photographic, and video evidence they captured during the fixture. The CST will then collate this evidence and then submit it to Chelsea FC.

“It is important to note that the CST shared concerns with senior club officials over the vulnerability of home areas ahead of this fixture. No supporter should feel unsafe while at Stamford Bridge, and the CST will do everything to ensure that a full and proper explanation is issued to supporters and safeguards are put in place to ensure that this situation is not repeated in the future.”

Chelsea have already issued a statement on the issue, posting the on their official website: “The safety and security of all fans is of paramount importance to Chelsea Football Club. For tonight’s UEFA Conference League semi-final against Djurgarden, the club implemented increased restrictions on the sale and distribution of tickets.

“Despite these measures, we are aware of a large number of away supporters in home areas across the stadium at tonight’s match. We will be reviewing all ticketing arrangements following this evening’s match and commit to implementing all necessary changes following this review. We will also share all our findings with the Fan Advisory Board.”

The issues come amid a war between Chelsea’s Supporters’ Trust and Blues part-owner Todd Boehly, who leads Eldridge Industries LLC, a private equity group that are the controlling owners of Vivid Seats, a ticket resale platform. The Trust claim there is a significant conflict of interest in Boehly owning shares in both Chelsea and Vivid Seats, with Vivid Seats’ ticketing resale directly conflicting Chelsea’s terms of sale for their tickets.