Thomas Tuchel has urged fans to forget the Super League saga and cheer Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

He said: “We all make mistakes and if you lead a club and own a club you can make decisions that not everybody understands and not everybody likes.

“This is part of life but it does not change the love for the game.

“So put your anger to this decision and the way it was presented to one side.

“Don’t put it on the team and never doubt the love that all the people at the training-ground level have for this game.

“I can just tell everybody that I love this game so much, like everybody in the dressing room — the boys are so happy out on the pitch, so excited about this semi-final.

“We need all support to enable us to overcome this huge step in these two games.”