Patrick Vieira has hit out at Chelsea owing to the Blues’ refusal to allow Conor Gallagher to compete in the FA Cup semi-finals.
This of course comes with Palace set to face Chelsea on Sunday the 17th of April.
The Eagles have made it to the final four of the FA Cup for the first time since all the way back in 1995, after smashing Everton 4-0 in the quarter-finals last month.
And though Palace are certainly underdogs heading into the game, they will likely fancy their chances of getting a result as, this season, they have already beaten and drawn with Manchester City, before most recently hammering Arsenal 3-0.
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Vieira on Chelsea not letting Crystal Palace use Conor Gallagher
However, Crystal Palace’s chances of getting one over on Chelsea are set to be heavily decreased by their inability to call upon Gallagher.
The midfielder has scored eight and assisted five from midfield this term, but is unable to compete against his parent club due to the nature of his loan contract.
“It’s not the best rule because the only one who will lose is Conor,” the Palace boss explained in his latest press conference. “There’s a semi-final, it’s a really exciting game about how you will manage yourself and prepare yourself to play that game, then there’s playing that kind of game and the importance of it.
“It’s an experience the player is missing and I’m disappointed for him. He has played all the games so far and if there’s somebody who deserves to be in the semi-final, it’s him because of his performances, so I’m disappointed he won’t be able to play.
“The decision for Chelsea to send him on loan is to play these kind of games. We have as a group an opportunity to play an important game and that game would have given him more confidence and belief. We could lose but for him to have been on the field is what he needs to keep developing himself.
“Since he has been with us, he has been fantastic and for him not to have a chance to get involved in that game, it is something frustrating for his development. I feel for him because he wanted to play in that game — every player would want to play in that game.”
