Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Why I apologized to Conor Gallagher – Tuchel

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has explained why he apologized to midfielder Conor Gallagher before of his side’s FA Cup semi-final clash with Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Tuchel understands how competitive Gallagher is.

Gallagher is having a fantastic season on loan from Chelsea at Crystal Palace.

Gallagher will not play in the FA Cup semi-final meeting between Chelsea and Crystal Palace at Wembley on Sunday evening due to an agreement in his loan arrangement.

Palace had asked Chelsea for permission to play Gallagher in the FA Cup tie, but a player on loan cannot play against his parent club, according to loan agreement rules.

“I had the chance to speak to Conor and I could also see his frustration,” Tuchel said at his pre-match press conference on Friday.

“We met some weeks ago, after the international break. We ran into each other by coincidence in a restaurant and we had a chat. The subject came up and I apologized because I know how competitive he is and I like him a lot. I know his character very well. It was a pleasure to have him here in the pre-season.

“That is the way it is. We played to win the game and the rules were clear when we made the loan. I can totally understand Patrick Vieira and also the disappointment of Conor of course, but these were the rules when we did the loan and we don’t want to suffer from our rules.”

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