Arsenal want answers from Uefa over Europa League final against Chelsea at Baku’s Olympic Stadium

Arsenal have said they are ‘bitterly disappointed’ by Uefa’s choice of stadium

Arsenal are seeking an explanation from Uefa over the process which saw Baku’s Olympic Stadium awarded the Europa League final, reiterating their ‘disappointment’ with the choice of host city and limited ticket allocation.

Arsenal and Chelsea will play each other in Azerbaijan in an all-English final on May 29 – at a stadium over 2,500 miles away from London.

Supporters of both clubs have struggled to arrange transport to the match: there are only three scheduled flights per week between London and Baku, which are all sold out, while other non-direct flights can take over 10 hours and involve numerous layovers.

The two clubs have meanwhile been allocated just 6,000 tickets each for the 68,700 capacity stadium, with vast amounts of seats going to the local organising committee, Uefa and national associations, commercial partners, broadcasters and corporate hospitality.

An Arsenal statement on that issue 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 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 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.”

Meanwhile Armenia international Henrikh Mkhitaryan may miss the final because of the ongoing conflict between his home nation and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno Karabakh region, where a ceasefire was declared in 1994 after fighting erupted several years earlier.

Mkhitaryan missed a group stage match against FK Qarabag earlier in the season because of the issue and the club are now working with Uefa in the hope appropriate safety measures can be but in place to enable him to travel with the rest of Arsenal’s first-team squad.

A group of British-Armenian season-ticket holders also face being prevented from Azerbaijan to support their team, with Arsenal currently in talks with the Foreign Office in an attempt to find a resolution.