Conor Gallagher was left frustrated after Chelsea blocked Crystal Palace’s request to field the on-loan midfielder on Sunday against his former club.
Gallagher is ineligible to face his parent club in their FA Cup semi-final due to an agreement in his loan deal at Palace. Speaking ahead of the tie, Thomas Tuchel has revealed he apologized to Gallagher after Chelsea rejected a request from Palace to allow the midfielder to participate at Wembley on Sunday.
“I had the chance to speak to Conor and I could see his frustration,” said Tuchel.
“We met some weeks ago by coincidence in a restaurant and we had a chat. The subject came up and I apologized because I know how competitive he is.
“I like him a lot, I know his character very well. It was a pleasure to have him here in pre-season.
“This is the way it is. We play to win the game and the rules were clear when we made the loan. I can totally understand Patrick Vieira and the disappointment of Conor.
“But these were the rules when we did the loan and we do not want to suffer from our rules.”
Eagles manager Patrick Vieira has criticized that decision.
Follow Chelsea vs Crystal Palace live.
