Chelsea vs Arsenal: Uefa explain measly ticket allocation for Europa League final

The Premier League clubs have been left disappointed by the allocations ahead of the trip to Baku

Jack Rathborn
Friday 10 May 2019 18:22 BST
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Uefa insist they have only allocated 6,000 tickets each to Chelsea and Arsenal for the Europa League final due to "recent experience".

The Blues secured their place in Baku on penalties against Eintracht Frankfurt, while the Gunners dispatched Valencia with far more ease, running out 7-3 winners on aggregate.

A statement read: "Based on UEFA's recent experience with UEFA Europa League finals and the UEFA Super Cup in comparable venues the number of finalists’ supporters requesting tickets for a UEFA Europa League final can vary greatly from club to club.

"Of course, it is impossible to predict in advance which clubs will reach the final while the venue has to be chosen around two years in advance.

"Taking into consideration the above and most importantly the geographical location and logistical capacity of airports in and around the host city, 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.

"Offering more tickets to fans of the participating teams, without any guarantee that they would be able to arrange suitable travel to reach Baku, was therefore not a responsible option.

"Based on these circumstances, for this year’s UEFA Europa League final in Baku, 6,000 tickets have been made available to each of the finalists.

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"UEFA remains in close contact with the finalists regarding the travel arrangements of their supporters and any other operational aspects with regards to the final."

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