ARSENAL RAGE
Safety fears rule Mkhitaryan out of Europa final
ARSENAL will express their anger to UEFA officials next week after Henrikh Mkhitaryan decided against travelling to Azerbaijan for the Europa League final citing safety fears.
The Armenia captain told team-mates yesterday of his decision not to fly to Baku for the game against Chelsea next Wednesday. He said: ‘It hurts a lot to miss it.’
Arsenal called UEFA’s failure to allay Mkhitaryan’s fears ‘ unacceptable’ and will have it out
face to face with officials of the governing body after the final.
There has been significant doubt over Mkhitaryan’s involvement owing to the political tension between hosts Azerbaijan and Armenia. Arsenal have held talks with UEFA over the past few days and officials devised a security plan they believed would ensure Mkhitaryan’s safety. However, the club and Mkhitaryan retained serious concerns over his safety, particularly on the pitch.
Mkhitaryan said: ‘Having considered all current options, we had to take the tough decision for me not to travel with the squad to the Europa League final.
‘It’s the kind of game that doesn’t come along very often and I admit, it hurts a lot to miss it.’
Arsenal managing director Vinai Venkatesham told the Financial
Times Business of Football summit yesterday: ‘I struggle to find words for how strongly I feel. We feel it’s unacceptable.
‘We don’t feel he can travel and it’s extraordinarily sad. You don’t get a chance to play in major European finals often. Miki has had it taken away from him and it is an extraordinary shame.
‘We made our point clearly to UEFA, we have written to them. We will also sit down with them face to face after the final and express how it is unacceptable and how it can never happen again to Arsenal or anyone.’
A UEFA statement read: ‘UEFA sought and received assurances regarding the player’s safety in Azerbaijan from the highest authorities in the country. As a result of these guarantees, a comprehensive security plan was developed and given to the club.’
The Azeri FA criticised Mkhitaryan’s decision, saying: ‘We very much regret this unwarranted decision taken, as we understand, collectively by Arsenal, the player and his family.
‘Azerbaijan has provided all the necessary guarantees required by UEFA to ensure the personal safety of Mr Mkhitaryan.’
Mkhitaryan’s Arsenal team-mate Laurent Koscielny said: ‘I am not very happy because we need to leave one player here, because he can’t play in the final.
‘I think that when one country has a problem with another then UEFA should not give the final to that country.’
The Europa League final and Champions League final on June 1 will be on free - to - air TV, YouTube and via the BT Sport app.