Chelsea ordered to expand away dressing room at Stamford Bridge after Liverpool complained they were too cramped
CHELSEA have been ordered to expand their away dressing room following a complaint by Premier League rivals.
Liverpool plus Brighton boss Graham Potter moaned that the changing facilities at Stamford Bridge for visiting teams were too small.
It meant players were forced to share the room instead of having a separate space for management and staff.
Covid regulations limit the number of people allowed to congregate in a certain area.
Chelsea were already using two TV ante-rooms next door as makeshift changing rooms but it wasn’t enough to keep the two clubs happy.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp missed the January 2 match at Chelsea with Covid but his assistant Pep Lijnders was in charge.
Chelsea’s cramped Stamford Bridge ground has a capacity of 41,837 and the East Stand which houses the changing rooms was opened in 1974.
Premier League chiefs have since made the European champions increase the size of the away team dressing room to comply with Coronavirus rules.
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During the height of the pandemic, visiting players had to trudge round the back of the ground behind the Matthew Harding Stand to use a nearby health club to get into and out of their kit.
The new internal restructuring has almost halved the space available to working media at Chelsea games.
It was in place for the first time at Chelsea's 2-0 home win over Tottenham on Sunday.
And the layout will have to remain place until social distancing rules are relaxed which will be for three months at least.
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