Mkhitaryan misses the Europa League final for political reasons. Azerbaijan: "We can guarantee its safety". Photo EPA / ANDY RAIN
BAKU – Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan has decided to skip the Europa League final between Arsenal and Chelsea, which will be played in Baku, after receiving many death threats. All this because Henrikh Mkhitaryan is Armenian and relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia are very bad. Arsenal issued a statement explaining the reasons that prompted Henrikh Mkhitaryan to miss the final but Arzerbaijan promptly replied: "Let him come. We guarantee for your safety ".
Mkhitaryan jumps the Europa League final, fans protest: nobody wants Baku.
There has been a great deal of controversy over UEFA's decision to have a major final match like the Europa League final in Baku. The city of Azerbaijan is a very uncomfortable destination for British fans. It is far away and not easy to reach. In the weeks leading up to the final, both Chelsea and Arsenal fans, despite the rivalry, joined forces to protest against UEFA's decision to let the Europa League finals play in Baku. Fans of Chelsea and Arsenal have requested a change of venue but Uefa has not accepted this request.
To these logistical problems, the delicate situation of Henrikh Mkhitaryan was added. Tahir Taghizadeh , ambassador of Azerbaijan in the United Kingdom wanted to have his say on Marca's microphones: "The Europa League final is a great sporting event. If someone wants to turn it into a political event, it's another problem. We have to put all political issues aside, because we are talking about an athlete and a sport ”.
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Source: Blitz Quotidiano