Manchester City played at Wembley for the 28th time since it reopened in 2007 as they beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 to book their place in the FA Cup final.
Goals from Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol sent the Manchester City faithful home happy and kept the chances of a trophy this season alive.
However, it has emerged that Man City failed to sell a large proportion of their allocation at Wembley, with a huge chunk of their section viably empty, prompting rival fans to call out the level of support shown to their team.
Pep Guardiola suggest FA cup semi-finals could be played up north to save fans from rising costs
A page on X (formerly Twitter) labelled the City fans as ’embarrassing’ while other suggested that the fans weren’t attending due to the clubs poor performances this season.
Questioned were levelled at Pep Guardiola in his pre-match press conference where he supported his sides fan base, and suggested that the rising cost of match tickets and travel to London make it difficult for many fans to afford the trip each time.
“One day maybe the FA Cup will be played here in the north,” Guardiola said.
“They will come here to Old Trafford or Etihad or Anfield or Goodison Park. I understand the people, I’m not the person to say.
“All around the world people suffer economically and I understand completely it’s not easy for them. We will play for the people who come to Wembley and for the people who would like to come but cannot.
“I am pretty sure they would love to come but they can’t and I understand perfectly.”
Guardiola added: “The fans cannot come because the situation is difficult for travel, the people are at work on Monday and maybe will be back late, the prices of the tickets.
“I understand completely that they don’t come. I’m pretty sure they would love to go.
“We have to do it with or without them – our job is to do our best. It’s better with our people, but I’m not complaining at all – completely the opposite. I am alongside the people who would like to come but cannot.”
On the Tuesday before their trip to Wembley, Man City fans protested the ticket prices before their game at Aston Villa, with a fan group claiming that matchday tickets for adults are as expensive as £88 with child’s prices being just £30 cheaper at £58.
A FA spokesperson told the BBC that “Wembley has the largest capacity in the country, and therefore permits the biggest numbers of fans possible from each club to support their team in person”.
