Arsenal vs BATE: Gunners fans complain over ‘unacceptable’ Europa League kick-off time

The Arsenal Supports Trust have contacted UEFA concerning their disapproval at the kick-off time and the club's unwillingness to refund fans unable to attend

Jack Rathborn
Wednesday 20 February 2019 14:25 GMT
Comments
Arsene Wenger questions giving Mesut Ozil a new Arsenal contract

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Arsenal Supports Trust have complained over what they deem an “unacceptable” kick-off time for their Europa League clash with BATE.

The Gunners will begin the second leg against the Belarusian side at the Emirates at 5:55pm.

The time has caused uproar amongst fans, many of whom claim they simply cannot attend due to work commmitments.

The AST sent a letter to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin to voice their concern, as well urging BT Sport to consider joining them.

The likelihood of thousands of empty seats could damage the product, the AST argue.

The group demanded: “Football has to stop putting tv companies ahead of match going fans.”

Moreover, Arsenal were criticised for not sanctioning refunds for fans who cannot attend the game.

The Emirates Stadium is set to have thousands of empty seats
The Emirates Stadium is set to have thousands of empty seats (EPA)

The kick-off time was also branded as “not reasonable,” with an all-time low attendance now likely.

The Emirates’ 60,260 capacity could dip below the official lowest attendance of 44,064 from the 2017 League Cup tie vs Doncaster.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in