Prominent fans groups from Arsenal and Chelsea are seeking talks with Uefa to avoid a repeat of the farce that has left both London clubs returning thousands of tickets for the Europa League Final.
A total of 6,000 tickets — thought to comprise 2,200 from the Gunners and 3,800 from the Blues — were left unsold after fans were put off by spiralling travel costs and the sheer difficulty of making a 6,000-mile round trip to Azerbaijan, one of the most remote Uefa territories.
It is understood that sponsors and corporate level tickets are also freely available for similar reasons, increasing the prospect of the final being played in front of thousands of empty seats at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, which is expected to have a capacity of 64,000 on the night.
A spokesman for the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust told Standard Sport: “The fact that Arsenal have not sold out an allocation of just 6,000 tickets demonstrates just what a poor choice of venue this is.
"The AST intends to meet with Uefa in the weeks ahead to express our view that far more thought needs to be given to choosing venues for finals that work well for fans of the competing clubs.”
Chelsea fans are similarly angry. David Chidgey, of the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust, said: “We will be looking to unite with Arsenal on this and working very closely with all the other Premier League trusts. When we work together, we can get things done.
“The primary responsibility for this absolute shambles is Uefa. They chose the venue and irrespective of two London clubs being in the final, it would have been really hard for supporters of any club to get to.
“Whether Uefa are prepared to listen is another thing entirely because I have a suspicion they just don’t care. But they need to be told.”
Uefa, however, insist the stadium is likely to be full with tickets being resold to locals for around 30 euros.
A Uefa spokesman said: “Approximately 6,000 tickets have been returned. The majority of these tickets have already been sold to local fans in Azerbaijan and we are confident the remaining ones will also be sold as demand is very high.”
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Talks are already planned between representatives of the two clubs and Uefa. However, literature local to the city paints a different picture, claiming: “According to the director of the arena [Javid Garayev], it will be able to host 64,000. [Garayev said]: ‘And no matter who plays, the interest in the match will be high in any case.’”
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