Chelsea have asked for Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final at Middlesbrough to be played behind closed doors because their fans can no longer buy tickets.
The government issued a licence to allow Chelsea to continue playing after freezing the assets of Russian owner Roman Abramovich.
Under the terms, Chelsea are not allowed to sell tickets to any matches.
Chelsea Supporters Trust asked the club to withdraw the request, saying it “does not benefit” any fans.
The Football Association will make a decision on Wednesday.
Chelsea had sold between 500 and 600 tickets of their 4,620 allocation before a licence placing restrictions on the club came into effect on 10 March.
The measure was introduced to stop oligarch Abramovich, who is looking to sell Chelsea, from profiting.
He has been banned from being a club director and the sale of Chelsea has been delayed after the UK government sanctioned him over his connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Chelsea said they made the request “with extreme reluctance” to the Football Association not to allow fans of either side at the Riverside “for matters of sporting integrity”.
A statement read: “Chelsea FC recognizes that such an outcome would have a huge impact on Middlesbrough and its supporters, as well as our own fans who have already bought the limited number of tickets that were sold before the licence was imposed, but we believe this is the fairest way of proceeding in the current circumstances.”
Chelsea said on Monday they were talking to the government on a daily basis “in search of a resolution” to the issue of selling tickets, and that the Premier League and FA had spoken to the government about the potential sporting integrity issues raised.
The government last week granted an amendment to the licence, allowing Chelsea to spend £900,000 on costs for home games – up from the £500,000 set on Thursday – but the allowable away costs remain at £20,000 per game.
Sports minister Nigel Huddleston said the government is in “discussions” with Chelsea “to look at ways ways we could potentially enable further ticket sales”.
Speaking at a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) session about the role of Russian money in the ownership and sponsorship of clubs, Huddleston said licence amendments taken so far were “precisely to stop” Chelsea from going into administration.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham told the same DCMS session that he “would expect the (Middlesbrough) game to go ahead”.
The match, which starts at 17:15 GMT, will be broadcast live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.
A government spokesman said: “We are working to ensure more away fans can attend games, but this must be compatible with the licence so we ensure that no additional revenue can be raised.”
