Chelsea Supporters' Trust accuse the club of 'penny-pinching'

The Chelsea Supporters' Trust (CST) has accused the club of 'penny-pinching' as it slammed the 'appalling' decision to remove a coach subsidy for travel to domestic away games.

On Tuesday, Chelsea announced it will remove the £10 coach subsidy for away games.

The decision drew a furious reaction from CST, which noted the club's largesse in the transfer window.

'Breaking the British transfer record twice in a year is fine, but a £10 subsidised coach is where Chelsea draws the line,' it said in a post on social media.

Chelsea have spent north of £900million since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over from Roman Abramovich 18 months ago.

Earlier this month, the Blues signed Moises Caicedo from Brighton in a deal worth a British record £115m, breaking the £105m record they had set in January when they signed Enzo Fernandez.

'It appears that during a cost-of-living crisis, Chelsea FC are happy to increase the financial burden on many supporters by penny-pinching,' CST said in a statement.

'The appalling decision will force those who rely on the service to pay significantly more to travel to away fixtures.

'Despite representations from the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust and coach users, Chelsea Football Club has unfortunately decided that maintaining the £10 subsidy 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 widely rumoured that the coach subsidy budget was approximately £250k.'

The CST said it met with the club earlier this month to discuss the issue and it warned that supporters who use the club coaches may be priced out of travelling to away games.

'Earlier this month, the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust met with club officials in response to online rumours that the coach subsidy would be removed for the 2023-24 season,' it said.

'CFC clarified that at the time a decision had not been made but confirmed that they were evaluating the subsidy budget.

'During the meeting, The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust made representations to the club.'

Despite the feedback, however, Chelsea pressed ahead with the decision, which the CST described as 'totally unacceptable'.

It added that the decision to remove the subsidy risked having a negative impact on young and vulnerable supporters, as well as fans who face a cost of living crisis or use wheelchairs and mobility scooters.

'On Friday, the CST again met 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 remove the subsidy in full is totally unacceptable,' it said.

'This decision also contradicts the commitment to inclusivity that the club guaranteed during takeover discussions held last spring.'

Chelsea said they will lay on coaches for selected games for men’s and women’s matches, the first of which will be provided for the trip to Bournemouth on 17 September.

The cost for the journey would be £29 but the CST has agreed to part-fund the subsidy, reducing the fare to £10.