British-Armenian fans denied visas for Europa League final in Baku

This year’s Europa League final between Arsenal and Chelsea is surrounded by numerous controversies and scandals because of its venue – Azerbaijan, Baku Olympic stadium. According to the publication rusarminfo.ru, besides refusing to guarantee Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s safety, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry is apparently refusing to give British-Armenian fans visas for the match. Arsenal have contacted the UK's Foreign Office to try to resolve the situation and, if possible, to exert some sort of pressure on Azerbaijan to let the dual British-Armenian Gooners in the country to watch their favourite team play in a European final. "We have received many complaints from our fans about this and we fully share their concerns. On behalf of our fans, 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. We would be happy to join any future discussions to avoid this situation happening again."

Arsenal’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan ‘FORCED’ to miss Chelsea final in Baku