Chelsea vs Arsenal (EL FINAL) Wed 29th May 20:00 GMT

[coco 11,847]

2 hours ago, Skinnedy said:

 

Arsenal has way more to lose by boycotting this one, but I'd support both teams decision to boycott the final and play a "Last Whistle on Hate" Friendly that day in London. 

Wouldn't that be a Statement

 

Yes it would be a great statement............ for 24 hours. The next day it would start to feel like a huge mistake. Uefa would find a way to punish both clubs with severe reprisals, .........rerisals with names like Øvrebø and Frisk.

[General 1,386]

8 hours ago, ForeverCarefree said:

........

No idea why they picked Baku for European final. Fans and players are the last consideration nowadays.   

Money makes the world go round, and fits nicely in some persons' back pockets

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/may/16/uefa-handed-azerbaijan-europa-league-final-baku-chelsea-arsenal

 

[axman2526 2,855]

8 hours ago, ForeverCarefree said:

Henrikh Mkhitaryan will miss the final for Arsenal because UEFA cannot guarantee his safety in Baku. 

If that doesn't highlight the ridiculousness of UEFA picking such a stupid venue for the final then nothing will. 

No idea why they picked Baku for European final. Fans and players are the last consideration nowadays.   

Now if Auba and Lazza decided to skip it as well we would have a much better chances at winning this game in front of the neutrals and Uefa sponsors.

[robdog 6,910]

9 hours ago, Blueballs00 said:

Just seen mhikitaryan can't play for safety reasons. This final becomes more of a joke as time goes on. Did that arsenal fans protest idea get an traction? It really should!

just to add some spice to your post

 

[LampardsRightFoot 42]

With the travel issues, Mkhitaryan missing out, and now the Cech to Chelsea rumours, this final is becoming a little bit embarrassing.  In terms of the match, I think Arsenal will want this slightly more than us and their fire power up front makes me think they'll have the edge.  But such a circus of a game might play right in to our hands and we could win it.

Ideally for us it'd be the perfect situation for a Chelsea win and Hazard to bow out with the winner and a MOTM performance.  We can hope.

[robdog 6,910]

Gaffer's Pre match Press Conference

 

[robdog 6,910]

 

[ForeverCarefree 24,350]

We can name up to twelve substitutes for the final. 

This man to be named on the subs bench, make his only appearance of the season and score the winner.

[Nibs 6,969]

odds of 10,000/1.

He'll no doubt be there if there's a celebrationery piss-up afterwards - just don't let him anywhere near the driving seat.

 

[coco 11,847]

We have sent back 4000 of 6000 allocated tickets, Le arse have sent back 2000 of 6000 allocation. 

Well done Chelsea fans for telling Uefa what Arsenal fans wanted to say.

[luckywerthers 937]

I have read that BT sport are showing both finals for free and that you can also watch the game on their u tube channel. Does that mean i can just go to u tube on my tv and watch the games? is it that simple does any body know?

[coco 11,847]

12 hours ago, luckywerthers said:

I have read that BT sport are showing both finals for free and that you can also watch the game on their u tube channel. Does that mean i can just go to u tube on my tv and watch the games? is it that simple does any body know?

Both finals will be available to live stream for free on the BT Sport app for small and large screen devices, online at BTSport.com (visit btsport.com/final on matchday) and via BT Sport’s YouTube channel, while the games will also be free on Virgin TV.

App viewers will be able to experience the finals in VR360 on a mobile or tablet, either by selecting a specific camera viewpoint or watching a fully produced programme with commentary from Spencer Owen aka Spencer FC.

[ForeverCarefree 24,350]

14 hours ago, coco said:

We have sent back 4000 of 6000 allocated tickets, Le arse have sent back 2000 of 6000 allocation. 

Well done Chelsea fans for telling Uefa what Arsenal fans wanted to say.

Rumours this morning that the stadium could be only half full. 

Embarrassing for UEFA that a major final won't be played to a capacity crowd because of their decision to play in such a stupid location. 

Not that they'll accept any blame of course. 

[Blueblur 5,151]

14 hours ago, coco said:

We have sent back 4000 of 6000 allocated tickets, Le arse have sent back 2000 of 6000 allocation. 

Well done Chelsea fans for telling Uefa what Arsenal fans wanted to say.

The whole thing is a farce. I read yesterday that some fans have already started their journeys to Baku. Madness! And the final isn't for another 5 days!

I can't imagine many of our players are elated to be playing in an empty stadium. They'll be able to hear every kick of the ball echoing around them. 

[coco 11,847]

50 minutes ago, ForeverCarefree said:

Rumours this morning that the stadium could be only half full. 

Embarrassing for UEFA that a major final won't be played to a capacity crowd because of their decision to play in such a stupid location. 

Not that they'll accept any blame of course. 

They are now saying "no sponsors tickets have been returned", but they wouldn't return them would they, seeing as they didn't pay for them 

[IliyaKrostin 1,832]

So, the Europe League final wouldn't be played with a full stadium? It's a big failure by UEFA!

A player can't play in the final because of his nationality...

This is not football.

[enigma 5,841]

37 minutes ago, Blueblur said:

The whole thing is a farce. I read yesterday that some fans have already started their journeys to Baku. Madness! And the final isn't for another 5 days!

I can't imagine many of our players are elated to be playing in an empty stadium. They'll be able to hear every kick of the ball echoing around them. 

I mean you would think/expect there would be direct flights to pretty much every city these days. How Baku is so difficult to fly to, I do not know. Not saying direct flights from London, but maybe London to elsewhere then direct flight to Baku. 

Edited May 24 by enigma

[coco 11,847]

30 minutes ago, Blueblur said:

The whole thing is a farce. I read yesterday that some fans have already started their journeys to Baku. Madness! And the final isn't for another 5 days!

Champions league final in Turkey next year, and likely to be Russia in 2021.

They should really hold off with naming venues for finals until it becomes clear who's in the final.

Basically Uefa hold a brown bag auction behind closed doors for all the countries wishing to host the final, Uefa agree to sell the sole of the fans to the highest bidder.

[Snedger 1,070]

1 hour ago, coco said:

They are now saying "no sponsors tickets have been returned", but they wouldn't return them would they, seeing as they didn't pay for them 

And they likely have the added advantage that their travel and accommodation expenses are also picked up by their employers. And they could have planned ahead as they won't have had to wait to see who reached the final. A jolly to see Frankfurt versus Valencia would still be a great freebie.

40 minutes ago, coco said:

Champions league final in Turkey next year, and likely to be Russia in 2021.

They should really hold off with naming venues for finals until it becomes clear who's in the final.

Basically Uefa hold a brown bag auction behind closed doors for all the countries wishing to host the final, Uefa agree to sell the sole of the fans to the highest bidder.

Those destinations are alright really. Very well served by countless airlines and airports with huge capacity to take lots of charter flights on top of scheduled services. The fact that they put the flight ticket prices up is just a free market thing. They do that for everything. I suppose the Russian visa thing is a pain but maybe they'd waive that again as they did for the World Cup.

I can also understand that you need to select venues in advance. There's probably a hell of a lot that needs doing well in advance of hosting a game like these. TV and other media need to plan well ahead. Police and security. There's loads of stuff that means you can't just pick a city a fortnight before the game.

But no doubt, Baku just makes no sense on any level and there is no excuse for such a decision. Surprised that they didn't try to hold the final in Belgrade in 1999. What's a few bombs dropping...

[Blueblur 5,151]

1 hour ago, enigma said:

I mean you would think/expect there would be direct flights to pretty much every city these days. How Baku is so difficult to fly to, I do not know. Not saying direct flights from London, but maybe London to elsewhere then direct flight to Baku. 

A 4-day trip. Utter lunacy. 

 

[Snedger 1,070]

1 hour ago, enigma said:

I mean you would think/expect there would be direct flights to pretty much every city these days. How Baku is so difficult to fly to, I do not know. Not saying direct flights from London, but maybe London to elsewhere then direct flight to Baku. 

I think that the problem with Baku is that there simply isn't the demand. Nobody is going to fly a aircraft between London and Baku with it barely half full. BA did fly 6 days a week until I think sometime last year. My brother went there often and loved it. I vaguely recall the reason they pulled the flight was because a particular business in Baku ceased or changed and they had made up the bulk of the passengers on the route.

So I would imagine that it's a similar story from all other western/central European cities in that there isn't the demand. And then as I said before, I don't think the airport in Baku can accommodate large numbers of charter flights. And with 12'000 Londoners plus anyone else who's traveling there for the game, they absolutely need charters as there's no way scheduled flights alone could carry that number of passengers in just a couple of days. All reasons why UEFA should have not even have considered Baku at all.

[ForeverCarefree 24,350]

Statement from the Chelsea Supports Trust is worth a read and raises some good points, I've highlighted the ones that stood out to me:

The Europa League Final between Chelsea and Arsenal on May 29th is presenting unprecedented challenges to supporters who wish to be there in the hope of witnessing Chelsea winning another European trophy.

It is clear that, whilst a pleasant place to visit for a group stage match, Baku is a totally unsuitable location for a major European final. The combination of cost, complexity in regard to travel arrangements and time off work has massively reduced the travelling support, including those who loyally and ordinarily go to all home, away and European matches.

None of this is the fault of the people of Baku. The blame lies predominantly with UEFA who, yet again, re-affirm their contempt for match going supporters.

Due to UEFA’s choice of Baku, the supporters who do manage to make the trip face a late finish of the game (potentially after 01.30 if it goes to extra-time and penalties) causing potential problems for travelling supporters returning to hotels or travel hubs. But before supporters get this far, the issues faced in actually getting there are insurmountable for many.

These issues are exacerbated by the inadequacy of airports in terms of handling large numbers of extra flights, the lack of direct flights and high cost of indirect ones and the complexity of journeys from Tbilisi or Kiev by overnight train or minibus for example.

With the difficulties supporters face in getting to Baku, it might not seem unreasonable that UEFA have only allocated 6,000 tickets to both Chelsea and Arsenal out of a capacity of 68,000. However, this is potentially a worrying trend for future seasons. UEFA notoriously provide an inadequate allocation for supporters in finals, instead favouring the ‘UEFA family’ and may use the understandable but likely unsold allocation by both clubs as a barometer for future allocations.

In addition, the political situation between Azerbaijan and Armenia means that Arsenal player and Armenia Captain, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, feels unsafe to visit the country and now misses out on the chance to play in the biggest game of his career. There have also been reported cases of supporters of Armenian extraction who have been refused a visa to enter Azerbaijan. Choosing a location where there are issues with political conflicts and human rights abuses makes a mockery of UEFA’s claims of inclusivity.

On the subject of inclusivity, UEFA and the stadium’s provision of facilities for disabled supporters is inadequate. The sightlines for some of the wheelchair spaces in the stadium are compromised by poor pitch visibility. In Baku itself, there is limited accommodation and infrastructure accessible to disabled supporters. Awarding a final to a City and Stadium which cannot adequately provide for disabled supporters due to poor views and inaccessibility is a damning indictment of UEFA’s #equalgame campaign.  

Rather than arrogantly pushing back on recent criticism, once both English clubs had reached the Quarter Finals, surely a round table discussion between UEFA, Azerbaijan and the two clubs on details, logistics and airline capacity should have taken place. Better still, a fall-back venue could and should have been identified.

We are extremely disappointed that Chelsea FC have been unable or unwilling to help Chelsea supporters overcome the travel, expense and logistics in order for them to support the team in a European final. This, in spite of the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust’s suggestions as to how the club could offer material help to supporters wishing to go to Baku.

We suggested providing a subsidy for travelling supporters, having calculated the negligible financial impact on the club given the revenue earned from the competition this season. This is pertinent when considering that Chelsea FC’s travel partner, Thomas Cook, is charging an extortionate £979 for the official package for the day trip to Baku. Furthermore, the late notice of the UK airport to be used for both departure and return means it is hard for travellers to plan.

The price for Thomas Cook’s package is more expensive than most season tickets, and again it is disappointing that the club did not feel they could offer supporters an extension for season ticket renewals, as they have done before when Chelsea supporters faced additional expense due to the club’s participation in a European final. Tottenham Hotspur for example have extended their season ticket renewals to help supporters cash flow.

Chelsea is the only club of the four English European finalists insisting all of their supporters collect their tickets from a designated ticket pick-up location, even though tickets are clearly freely available. To compound things, supporters cannot take advantage of the free travel in Baku until they have their match ticket. Surely Chelsea could have re-thought their policy in lieu of the exceptional circumstances of the trip to Baku?

The lack of a statement from Chelsea FC is also disappointing. Arsenal FC, issued a statement expressing frustration and disappointment on behalf of their supporters; acknowledging the unsuitability of the venue, the challenges faced by supporters travelling to Baku and the need to ensure more care by UEFA in future venue selection. While this may not make any difference to UEFA’s immediate decision making, at the very least it sent out a message to their supporters that they were concerned about the difficulties they face and were on their side.

A similar statement from Chelsea would have engendered some much-needed goodwill from the supporters.

And, given the large numbers of Chelsea supporters who are extremely disappointed in not being able to get to Baku to support the team, we believe that Chelsea FC have missed a great opportunity to benefit from another gesture of goodwill by facilitating a ‘live broadcast’ or ‘beam back’ of the match, at Stamford Bridge or another suitable venue.  

This would have been very well received and while never able to replace the experience of being in Baku, it might have mitigated some of the disappointment.

[drjonesy1994 926]

10 minutes ago, ForeverCarefree said:

Statement from the Chelsea Supports Trust is worth a read and raises some good points, I've highlighted the ones that stood out to me:

The Europa League Final between Chelsea and Arsenal on May 29th is presenting unprecedented challenges to supporters who wish to be there in the hope of witnessing Chelsea winning another European trophy.

It is clear that, whilst a pleasant place to visit for a group stage match, Baku is a totally unsuitable location for a major European final. The combination of cost, complexity in regard to travel arrangements and time off work has massively reduced the travelling support, including those who loyally and ordinarily go to all home, away and European matches.

None of this is the fault of the people of Baku. The blame lies predominantly with UEFA who, yet again, re-affirm their contempt for match going supporters.

Due to UEFA’s choice of Baku, the supporters who do manage to make the trip face a late finish of the game (potentially after 01.30 if it goes to extra-time and penalties) causing potential problems for travelling supporters returning to hotels or travel hubs. But before supporters get this far, the issues faced in actually getting there are insurmountable for many.

These issues are exacerbated by the inadequacy of airports in terms of handling large numbers of extra flights, the lack of direct flights and high cost of indirect ones and the complexity of journeys from Tbilisi or Kiev by overnight train or minibus for example.

With the difficulties supporters face in getting to Baku, it might not seem unreasonable that UEFA have only allocated 6,000 tickets to both Chelsea and Arsenal out of a capacity of 68,000. However, this is potentially a worrying trend for future seasons. UEFA notoriously provide an inadequate allocation for supporters in finals, instead favouring the ‘UEFA family’ and may use the understandable but likely unsold allocation by both clubs as a barometer for future allocations.

In addition, the political situation between Azerbaijan and Armenia means that Arsenal player and Armenia Captain, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, feels unsafe to visit the country and now misses out on the chance to play in the biggest game of his career. There have also been reported cases of supporters of Armenian extraction who have been refused a visa to enter Azerbaijan. Choosing a location where there are issues with political conflicts and human rights abuses makes a mockery of UEFA’s claims of inclusivity.

On the subject of inclusivity, UEFA and the stadium’s provision of facilities for disabled supporters is inadequate. The sightlines for some of the wheelchair spaces in the stadium are compromised by poor pitch visibility. In Baku itself, there is limited accommodation and infrastructure accessible to disabled supporters. Awarding a final to a City and Stadium which cannot adequately provide for disabled supporters due to poor views and inaccessibility is a damning indictment of UEFA’s #equalgame campaign.  

Rather than arrogantly pushing back on recent criticism, once both English clubs had reached the Quarter Finals, surely a round table discussion between UEFA, Azerbaijan and the two clubs on details, logistics and airline capacity should have taken place. Better still, a fall-back venue could and should have been identified.

We are extremely disappointed that Chelsea FC have been unable or unwilling to help Chelsea supporters overcome the travel, expense and logistics in order for them to support the team in a European final. This, in spite of the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust’s suggestions as to how the club could offer material help to supporters wishing to go to Baku.

We suggested providing a subsidy for travelling supporters, having calculated the negligible financial impact on the club given the revenue earned from the competition this season. This is pertinent when considering that Chelsea FC’s travel partner, Thomas Cook, is charging an extortionate £979 for the official package for the day trip to Baku. Furthermore, the late notice of the UK airport to be used for both departure and return means it is hard for travellers to plan.

The price for Thomas Cook’s package is more expensive than most season tickets, and again it is disappointing that the club did not feel they could offer supporters an extension for season ticket renewals, as they have done before when Chelsea supporters faced additional expense due to the club’s participation in a European final. Tottenham Hotspur for example have extended their season ticket renewals to help supporters cash flow.

Chelsea is the only club of the four English European finalists insisting all of their supporters collect their tickets from a designated ticket pick-up location, even though tickets are clearly freely available. To compound things, supporters cannot take advantage of the free travel in Baku until they have their match ticket. Surely Chelsea could have re-thought their policy in lieu of the exceptional circumstances of the trip to Baku?

The lack of a statement from Chelsea FC is also disappointing. Arsenal FC, issued a statement expressing frustration and disappointment on behalf of their supporters; acknowledging the unsuitability of the venue, the challenges faced by supporters travelling to Baku and the need to ensure more care by UEFA in future venue selection. While this may not make any difference to UEFA’s immediate decision making, at the very least it sent out a message to their supporters that they were concerned about the difficulties they face and were on their side.

A similar statement from Chelsea would have engendered some much-needed goodwill from the supporters.

And, given the large numbers of Chelsea supporters who are extremely disappointed in not being able to get to Baku to support the team, we believe that Chelsea FC have missed a great opportunity to benefit from another gesture of goodwill by facilitating a ‘live broadcast’ or ‘beam back’ of the match, at Stamford Bridge or another suitable venue.  

This would have been very well received and while never able to replace the experience of being in Baku, it might have mitigated some of the disappointment.

Excellent statement. Agree with all of that. UEFA should be embarrassed but so should Chelsea at their lack of co-operation with fans. 

[Boyne 10,735]

A brilliant statement from the Supporters Trust. The fact that the club hasn't made a statement similar to that made by Arsenal is poor and the lack of financial help is disgraceful. Fans have just renewed their season tickets and holiday season for a lot of people is approaching: both are expensive drains especially for those with a tight budget.

The comment on poor line of sight for disabled fans is telling. Given that the authorities in Baku were given plenty of notice of the final, it is disgraceful that amendments have not been made to the stadium. I'm no builder but surely it wouldn't have taken much to time to provide facilities for disabled fans. Sounds like UEFA didn't make proper checks. 

Just seen this on the club website. The fans zones will be quiet.

https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2019/05/24/baku-europa-league-final-fan-zone-info?cardIndex=0-2

[F1905 269]

There will be a bigger fan zone down my local ,the nags head I would suspect !