Marc Skinner shares fan frustration over ‘crazy’ cup final ticket allocation

Marc Skinner has described the ticket allocations given to Manchester United and Chelsea for next month’s Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley as “crazy”.

The Football Association on Monday announced that 65,000 tickets had been issued for the May 14 showpiece, which was neutral area tickets selling out, with sales for the ends assigned to the two clubs to follow.

For that sale via the clubs, United, who have the east side of the stadium, and Chelsea, who have the west, have been given around 7,500 tickets each.

It was put to United boss Skinner at a press conference on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s Women’s Super League clash with Arsenal that there had been some upset among fans regarding the allocations for the final.

And he said: “In all honesty, I absolutely share that sentiment, absolutely.

“I don’t know how many it is in the men’s game, I really don’t, I don’t know how many they allocate. But to give clubs like Chelsea and Manchester United 8,000 tickets to sell, it’s crazy in my opinion, crazy. To give two massive clubs 8,000 tickets is just crazy.”

For last season’s men’s FA Cup final, Chelsea and Liverpool were given allocations of 30,500 tickets each.

A spokesperson for the FA said: “The Vitality Women’s FA Cup Final is the showpiece event of the women’s domestic season, and to date we have issued over 65,000 tickets.

“Finalists Chelsea and Manchester United have each been issued with an additional 7,500 tickets for their fans. This is to help meet the likely demand for each club and is almost double the amount of tickets that the finalists received last year.

“We look forward to hosting another memorable final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 14 May, and we are anticipating a new record attendance for the match.”

The biggest crowd to date for a Women’s FA Cup final was the 49,094 that were at Wembley for last season’s contest, Chelsea’s 3-2 extra-time victory over Manchester City.

Next month’s clash will be United’s first appearance in the final, while Emma Hayes’ Chelsea are aiming to win the competition for a third consecutive time.

The sides are also vying for the WSL title, with leaders United currently a point clear of second-placed defending champions Chelsea having played a game more. Arsenal are a further two points back in third.