Azerbaijan regrets Mkhitaryan's decision to miss Europa League final

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The Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA) has expressed regret over the decision of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the Armenian forward of Premier League's Arsenal, not to play in the forthcoming 2018-19 Europa League final at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan on May 29.

"We very much regret this unwarranted decision taken, as we understand, collectively by Arsenal, the player and his family. There is no reason whatsoever to put in question the seriousness of these guarantees provided by Azerbaijan. Over the past decade a large number of Armenian athletes have taken part in various international sports events in Azerbaijan without any issues," said the AFFA in a statement.

A volunteer at the collecting station in the town of Askeran in Nagorno-Karabakh /VCG Photo

The political conflicts between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been going on and on for over 20 years. As a result, Arsenal and Mkhitaryan previously decided that the Armenian forward will not go to Baku for the Europa League final, just like he did not play in the group game against Qarabağ FK.

"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. I will be cheering my team mates on! Let's bring it home," wrote Mkhitaryan on Instagram.

Having learnt the decision, the UEFA though pointed out that the Azerbaijan side made enough guarantees to keep Mkhitaryan's safety in Baku, they will "respect the personal decision" of the player.

Arsenal players prepare for the 2018-19 Europa League final. /VCG Photo

Arsenal's captain Laurent Koscielny did not like the fact that they will have to play without Mkhitaryan but he blamed the UEFA for it. "I think UEFA needs to know about the different problems they can have with the politics in the country. When one country has a problem with another they should not give the final to that country."

Mkhitaryan's absence will not be the only embarrassment for the Europa League final. According to The Times, only 5,500 tickets given to Arsenal and Chelsea, the two clubs that are to meet in the final, were sold to the fans, leaving over 6,000 tickets returned. Meanwhile, a large portion of the 2,000 tickets issued to the sponsors will also be returned to the UEFA.

Although two English clubs competing for the Europa League championship sounds exciting, it appears that fans didn't find it worth spending a fortune to travel some 2,400 miles (about 3,862 kilometers) for the encounter. Also, both teams are based in London and they will play against each other at least twice every season in the Premier League.

Arsenal fans supporting their team. /VCG Photo

It should be remembered that the Olympic Stadium in Baku has a capacity of 69,000. It remained unclear how many of the 23,000 tickets given to local fans were sold. If many of the seats are left unoccupied during the final, it will be a huge embarrassment..

The other possible embarrassment is with Arsenal. The team's fans are not happy with Mkhitaryan's absence, so they may protest. The UEFA warned Arsenal that they will be held responsible if fans do not behave themselves.