TASS: AFFA assured UEFA that Mhkitaryan will not have problems entering the country

Arsenal reached the final of the Europa League to a 7-3 aggregate victory over Valencia, but there had been doubts as to whether Henrikh Mkhitaryan would be permitted to play. The Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan assured UEFA that the Armenian midfielder will not have problems entering the country, according to TASS. UEFA  statement on the matter reads: "It is a standard procedure for UEFA to send letters of support to associations, clubs or embassies in order to obtain a visa for players in order to be able to travel to another country and play in Uefa competition matches. In this regard, UEFA and Arsenal have requested confirmation, and the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan has confirmed that this player will not have problems with entry and stay in the country, as well as that all necessary security measures will be taken" The Gunners played against Qarabag this season and Mkhitaryan didn’t play. Unai Emery opted to leave him in London amid security concerns, however, Qarabag head coach Gurban Gurbanov claimed Arsenal had "tried to save" Mkhitaryan from the "pressure" of playing in Azerbaijan. "If Henrikh Mkhitaryan would come to Azerbaijan it is not the first time - a lot of Armenian sportsmen came to Azerbaijan but it is the choice of Arsenal that they didn't send him," said Gurbanov.  "Arsenal may be afraid that in front of 60,000 Azerbaijani fans, Mkhitaryan has some pressure and that is why they didn't send Mkhitaryan." When Mkhitaryan was playing for Dortmund in 2015, security concerns led to the German club decided to leave him out of their squad for a Europa League game against Azerbaijan club Gabala. Azerbaijan have banned Armenians from entering the country over tensions between the bordering rivals. Source-TASS

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