Manchester United boss Marc Skinner hits out at ‘crazy’ ticket allocation for Women’s FA Cup final
MARK SKINNER reckons it’s crazy Manchester United and Chelsea have been allocated just 8,000 tickets each for the Women’s FA Cup final.
The Red Devils boss was sharing his thoughts after the FA confirmed 65,000 had been sold for neutral seating areas at Wembley stadium.
The clash will take place on May 14, a weekend before two pivotal title race duels with United hosting Man City and Chelsea facing Arsenal.
The amount of tickets provided for Blues and Red Devils fans hoping to sit in dedicated areas is less than those given to Liverpool and Chelsea before last year’s men’s final.
Back then the Premier League rivals were provided with 35,000 each for their duel at the 90,000-capacity stadium.
Skinner, whose side are top of the WSL, said: “I don’t know how many are in the men’s game and I don’t know how they allocate (them).
“But to give two massive clubs like Chelsea and Manchester United 8,000 tickets to sell is just crazy in my opinion. I can’t believe it.”
The FA say this year’s finalists have been provided with almost twice as many tickets as those allocated to the Blues and Man City ahead of last year’s decider.
In a written statement, an FA spokesman said: “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 are anticipating a new record attendance for the match.”
Tomorrow evening United, who are top of the WSL, take on Arsenal at Leigh Sports Village.
Their rivals are currently three points behind them in the WSL with a game in hand.
The last encounter between the sides saw United become the first team to beat the Gunners at the Emirates in the WSL, with a 3-2 win in October.
Tomorrow’s clash will see Arsenal take to the pitch without skipper Kim Little with her season ended prematurely by a hamstring injury.
However Skinner believes Jonas Eidevall’s side will pose considerable threat despite the absence of the midfield talisman.
And the north London side have been boosted by defender Steph Catley’s return to the squad with Lia Walti also available
Skinner added: “We know the threat that they have, we know the way that Jonas wants to play and their adaptations.
“It will be a very difficult game regardless. It’s almost like a heavyweight competition or contest.
“We have to make sure that we’re the team that are the aggressors.
“We’re going to have to rely heavily on our fan base because we want to turn our home into a fortress which we’ve managed to do.”