Chelsea offer free travel to fans for Christmas Eve fixture

Chelsea fans traveling to Wolves for the Christmas Eve Premier League match will be offered free transport to and from the match, the London club announced on Monday.

The match was originally scheduled for December 23 but was moved to December 24 for a 1 p.m. GMT kick-off, marking the first time a Premier League match will take place on Christmas Eve since 1995.

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)
– PL Notes: Chelsea in a bigger mess than Man United

“The club is aware that transport options are more limited than usual on this date, as it is a Sunday and also Christmas Eve,” Chelsea said in a statement.

“As a token of appreciation to the fans who make this trip, Chelsea Football Club will be offering a free trip as a gesture of goodwill to anyone who purchases a ticket.”

Coaches will be available to book when tickets for matches go on sale, the club added.

The change of date to Christmas Eve was criticized by the club’s supporters who described it as “totally unacceptable”. The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust said fans attending a match would face problems getting to Wolves on a holiday weekend.

“Not only could this lead to staffing problems at Molineux, but travel times during the holidays will further inconvenience supporters,” he said on Thursday.

“It’s difficult because it’s not easy to change,” Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino said last week of the postponement.

“We have to accept that this is England and it’s different to the rest of the world.

“Even if I’m not happy, we have to try to be at our best and accept a situation that we cannot change.”