6, 000 tickets! Arsenal blast 'unacceptable' Europa League Final Logistics Amid Fears Over Fans

Arsenal have questioned Uefa’s decision in selecting Baku for the Europa League Final after casting doubt over the possibilities of selling out their 6,000 allocation tickets for the showpiece occasion.

In all English final, the Gunners face Chelsea in Azerbaijan on 29 May with club fans struggling for flights and accommodation to make the near 6,000-mile round trip to witness the club’s first European final in 13 years. 

However, Arsenal are keeping contact with the Foreign Office to get help for British-Armenian ticket-holders to gain access to Azerbaijan. 

According to a report from Standard UK, ‘there are currently no diplomatic relations between the two countries due to a conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, meaning those holding Armenian passports are likely to have their visa applications rejected.’

Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s participation in the final is also in doubt as while special dispensation will be granted to allow him into the country, with Arsenal continuing to seek additional assurances over his safety while in Azerbaijan.

In a statement on Friday, Uefa admitted that Baku’s infrastructure prevented increasing the tickets allocations given to Arsenal and Chelsea, claiming “it was deemed that around 15’000 spectators would be able to travel from abroad (this includes finalists’ fans and general public), with Baku as the main hub”.

However, Arsenal have demanded for further clarification from UEFA over process in choosing one of the most inaccessible options possible to stage the Final after they released a strongly-worded statement this morning.

“Everyone at Arsenal is delighted to have reached the UEFA Europa League Final and we are all very much looking forward to the match against Chelsea on Wednesday May 29,” it began.”

“However, we are bitterly disappointed by the fact that due to transport limitations UEFA can only make a maximum of 6,000 tickets available to Arsenal for a stadium with a capacity of well over 60,000. Time will tell if it is even possible for 6,000 Arsenal fans to attend the match, given how extreme the travel challenges are.”

“We have 45,000 season ticket holders and for so many fans to miss out due to UEFA selecting a final venue with such limited transport provision is quite simply not right. The reality is that whoever reached the final would not be able to meet demand from their supporters.”

“We have received many complaints from our fans about this and we fully share their concerns. On behalf of our fans, we would like to understand the criteria by which venues are selected for finals, and also how supporter requirements are taken into account as part of this.”

“Moving forward we would urge UEFA to ensure that supporter logistics and requirements are a key part of any future decisions for final venues as what has happened this season is unacceptable, and cannot be repeated. We would be happy to join any future discussions to avoid this situation happening again.”

The lowest level of Arsenal’s membership scheme called Red Members, were today invited to buy tickets put on sale at 1pm today, further highlighting the slow uptake on sales.

We also gathered that several companies are struggling to find takers for corporate level and sponsors tickets given the difficulty of getting to Baku.