EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal and Chelsea demand refunds for Asian fans after supporters are CHARGED to meet Premier League stars

Arsenal have today discovered some of their Asian fans have been charged money to meet players on tour and have ordered refunds to be issued.

The development comes after Sportsmail exposed how the sponsors of similar events for Chelsea in Indonesia had charged fees of hundreds and thousands of pounds which are being refunded.

The Gunners, who are now in Japan, have unearthed a similar issue in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, although they stress it was not organised by any of their official commercial partners.

In the mix: Jack WIlshere and his Arsenal team-mates are currently in Japan

Skinned: Lukas Podolski puts in some face time with a young supporter at the Emirates Soccer Clinic in Nagoya

An Arsenal spokesman told Sportsmail: 'We only found out about it afterwards and it is completely unacceptable. We are sorry to our supporters who were asked to pay and will ensure they are refunded.'

It is only thought to be about ten Arsenal supporters. Chelsea estimated about 30 of their fans had been affected.

Doing his bit: Bacary Sagna and the Arsenal players put in some time with Asian supporters in Japan

The Blues reacted quickly to ensure refunds for Indonesian supporters who have been charged for autograph opportunities, coaching sessions and time with players during next week’s visit to Jakarta.

Fans in the Indonesian capital were asked to pay nearly £1,500 for a meet-and-greet opportunity with the players, £460 for a shirt to be signed and £330 to take part in a coaching clinic.

These were fees charged by BNI, Chelsea’s banking partner in Indonesia and the match sponsor for next week’s tour game in Jakarta.

Top dollar: Fans were forced to spend big on opportunities to meet stars like John Terry - posing with Thai fans

Spend: Chelsea will refund fans who paid £460 for a shirt signed by the squad - which this Thai fan got for free

Happy snaps: But this fan in Bangkok, with Eden Hazard, would have had to pay for this picture in Indonesia

Arm and a leg: The fees - as a Thai fan meets new boy Andre Schurrle - were imposed by promoters

But the club launched an investigation as soon as Chelsea were informed about the fees by Sportsmail and BNI decided to issue refunds.

The London club stressed that it was not part of their philosophy to charge fans to meet players and accepting this was a misunderstanding blamed on cultural differences. The only things fans should be paying for are match tickets.

It is apparently an accepted practice specific to Indonesia for the promoters to charge for these events. Other big football teams have operated by the same system, although it clearly depends on the promoters. Arsenal visited Jakarta last weekend but their fans were not asked to pay for similar opportunities.

Charity: The club - with Romelu Lukaku - said the fees are not in line with the message of the tour

Helping hand: Indonesian fans were made to pay for a charity coaching clinic like the one in Bangkok (above)

A Chelsea spokesman said: 'We were made aware that a number of people were being charged a fee for access to certain non-match day events during our stay in Jakarta.

'While we understand this is accepted practice in Indonesia, it does not fit with our tour philosophy of 'Here to Play, Here to Stay' which works towards leaving a lasting legacy in countries and communities we visit. Therefore, anyone who bought a ticket for one of these events will be refunded, and granted ticketed access for free.'

Clubs admit these opportunities for fans to get close to the players have to be ticketed because demand is high but Chelsea fans attending similar opportunities in Thailand and Malaysia have not been charged.

VIDEO: Chelsea training session in Bangkok





