Furious Chelsea supporters group demand Premier League make Christmas Eve U-turn as Blues slated to face Wolves
CHELSEA fans have demanded a meeting with Prem chiefs after their Wolves clash was confirmed as the first Christmas Eve fixture in 28 years.
League bosses unveiled the broadcast selections which will have matches live on TV between December 21 and January 2.
But that includes Chelsea travelling to the West Midlands for a 1pm kick-off on Christmas Eve – the first Prem game on that date since Leeds beat Manchester United 3-1 in 1995.
And the move was slammed by fans of both clubs, with the Chelsea Supporters Trust saying: “This is totally unacceptable.”
The Trust added: “We have made it clear that selecting this kick-off time will place another hurdle in the way of many match-going supporters.
“We have requested an urgent meeting with the relevant decision-makers within the Premier League.
“We expect this meeting will be held very soon alongside the Wolves 1877 Trust and the Football Supporters’ Association.
“And will formally request the Premier League properly consults supporters and reverses this decision.”
Prem bosses needed the green light from West Midlands Police and Wolves’ Safety Advisory Group to reschedule the game.
The match is one of 41 date or kick-off time changes between December 5 and January 2.
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Over the Festive period, games will be screened every day except Christmas Day and December 29.
Stand-out matches over Christmas include West Ham hosting Manchester United in the lunchtime kick-off on December 23, followed at 5.30 by Arsenal’s visit to Anfield.
Armchair fans will be able to watch four games back to back on Boxing Day.
This includes a 3pm choice between Bournemouth against Fulham and Sheffield United versus Luton – and concluding with Aston Villa at Old Trafford at 8pm.
The “Boxing Day” matches, which run until December 28, will be on Amazon Prime – as will the midweek programme at the start of December, also split over three days.
Other matches will be shown by TNT Sports and Sky Sports, with Liverpool playing Newcastle on New Year’s Day and Brighton at West Ham the following evening.