Political conflict leaves Mkhitaryan out of Europa League final

Arsenal have come out with an official statement regarding the situation of the Armenian player, confirming that he will unfortunately not be making the trip to Azerbaijan's captial of Baku for the final of the Europa League against Chelsea. 

Doubts had been cast for a while regarding the player's safety if he were to travel for such a high profile game, as his native Armenia and Azerbaijan were involved in a ethnic and territorial conflict which lasted more than six years from 1988 to 1994, a mere 25 years ago.

There still is no official end to the war, as all peace talks organised by several international entities have failed and the area of dispute is still in legal limbo; the conflict has caused an array of consequences such as internal displacement in both countries and enduring resentment from the two nationalities. A Russian imposed ceasefire, however, did manage to stick in 1994, when Arsenal midfielder Mkhitaryan was only five years old. 

Arsenal's statement, initially published on social media, reads: "We have thoroughly explored all the options for Micki to be part of the squad but after discussing this with Micki and his family we have collectively agreed he will not be in our travelling party. 

We have written to UEFA expressing our deep concerns about this situation. Micki has been a key player in our run to the final so this is a big loss for us from a team perspective.

We’re also very sad that a player will miss out on a major European final in circumstances such as this, as it is something that comes along very rarely in a footballer’s career".

Later on, Mkhitaryan let his own opinion on the matter be known to the public, stating that "it‘s the kind of game that doesn’t come along very often for us players and I must admit, it hurts me a lot to miss it".

This comes days after Azerbaijan’s ambassador to the United Kingdom stated that it was "perfectly safe for him to travel" with Arsenal to Baku for the Europa League final. 

Moreover, UEFA have come under much criticism as of late. This is just one issue amongst a long list of complaints from fans and teams alike, as Arsenal and Chelsea were given 6,000 tickets each by European football's governing body for the match at the 68,700-capacity Olympic Stadium, more than 4,500 kilometres (2,800 miles) from the English capital. Similarly, Liverpool and Tottenham fans have complained about the price inflation of Madrid's hotels and the small amount of tickets available for the Champions League final. And now, a political conflict is added to the mix. 

 

May 21, 2019