Arsenal blast UEFA for fiasco over Baku final

ARSENAL have demanded answers from UEFA over the ticketing and travel fiasco marring the Europa League final clash against Chelsea in Azerbaijan. However, the club have been left embarrassed as their former chief executive Ivan Gazidis was a member of the UEFA committee that ratified the decision to host the final in Baku. Only 6,000 tickets have been made available for Arsenal. And most fans have to take flights with changes in Turkey, Ukraine or the Middle East to get to Baku. An Arsenal statement read: ‘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 received many complaints about this and we fully share the fans’ concerns.’ However, Arsenal’s anger rang hollow when it emerged that Gazidis, who left the club for AC Milan last summer, was part of the UEFA committee that awarded the final to Baku. A source close to Arsenal last night insisted Gazidis was duty-bound to follow UEFA’s preference, despite being Arsenal CEO.