A large crowd of Chelsea fans gathered outside Wembley Way on Saturday afternoon to demonstrate against the club’s BlueCo ownership ahead of the FA Cup final against Manchester City. A march from Wembley Park tube station at 1.30 pm local time, described by organisers as a first for a club reaching a cup final, made for a striking spectacle on what is traditionally a day of unity for any club fortunate enough to reach the showpiece occasion.
Supporters turned out in numbers near Black Sheep Coffee with “BlueCo Out” banners and signs criticising the consortium led by Clearlake Capital co-founder Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly, who fronts the ownership group publicly. The police were visibly present as the group marched towards the national stadium, chanting:
“Behdad Eghbali, you’re not wanted here”, and “Sporting Directors get out of our club.”
“We don’t care about Clearlake, they don’t care about us. All we care about is Chelsea FC!”
It was the latest demonstration in a series of organised protests, with supporter action against BlueCo having begun against Brentford in January, before Chelsea and Strasbourg fans marched together ahead of the 1-0 loss against Manchester United. Discontent has spiralled since the sacking of Liam Rosenior in April after just 23 games in charge, with BlueCo now looking for their sixth permanent boss since taking over in 2022.
The Blues, who lifted the Conference League and Club World Cup last summer, have drifted into mid-table obscurity this season, with lifelong fans openly questioning the long-term direction of the project under Clearlake Capital.
Calum McFarlane hopes for Wembley glory against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City
Interim boss Calum McFarlane will lead Chelsea into Saturday’s final at Wembley, the FA Cup giving the Blues a final chance to salvage some silverware from an otherwise dispiriting campaign. McFarlane’s side take on a Manchester City side looking for an eighth FA Cup title in their fourth final in a row, the first team to do that, in the 3 pm kick-off.
The two sides last met just over a month ago at Stamford Bridge, with Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guéhi and Jeremy Doku all on target in an emphatic 3-0 win for the Citizens. Pep Guardiola’s men are also in a tight Premier League title race, with just two points separating City and leaders Arsenal as the season enters its final stretch.
McFarlane has urged his players not to fear the occasion, with the interim manager insisting his players have the belief they can beat anyone if they perform to the best of their ability. Chelsea chase their first FA Cup win since beating Manchester United 1-0 in 2018, and victory could be a sliver of redemption for supporters whose grievances with the BlueCo era show no sign of abating.