Footage has emerged showing Azerbaijani police apparently stopping two Arsenal fans on the streets of Baku for wearing Henrikh Mkhitaryan shirts.
Gunners fans are in the city ahead of Arsenal’s Europa League final clash against Chelsea on Wednesday evening – a match you can follow LIVE on talkSPORT.
@SNTVSTORY ON TWITTER
2
Arsenal fans wearing Mkhitaryan shirts have been stopped in the streets of Baku
@SNTVSTORY ON TWITTER
2
Arsenal fans are in Baku ahead of the Europa League final against Chelsea
Arsenal have confirmed they will be without Mkhitaryan for the all-English European final, with the 30-year-old refusing to travel to Baku over the conflict between his country and host nation Azerbaijan.
The same political tensions saw him skip the Gunners’ clash against Qarabag in Baku earlier this season, while they also prevented him from playing for Borussia Dortmund in a Europa League game against Gabala – in northern Azerbaijan – in October 2015.
UEFA have been heavily criticised for their decision to stage the final in Baku, with Arsenal and Chelsea fans experiencing issues with travel and acquiring tickets to the match.
However, speaking ahead of the match, Arsenal duo Granit Xhaka and Sokratis Papastathopoulos have insisted their team-mate’s absence has provided them with extra motivation to win the Europa League.
“Of course we are disappointed he’s not here but I think we spoke a lot about Mkhitaryan, and a lot of political things, and it’s time to speak about football,” Xhaka told the media on Tuesday.
“He’s very important for us, and we want to give him a trophy tomorrow.
“We’ve been twice in a row in the Europa League, and a club like Arsenal has to be in the Champions League.
“It’s an amazing and important game for us, because we want to give the club and the fans the Champions League back.”
Sokaritis, who also played with Mkhitaryan for several years at Borussia Dortmund, added: “We’ve had five or six years together, I know him very well, we are good friends.
“So I just wrote what I feel. But we have also to play for him and for the players who are injured, and tomorrow if we win this game, it’s also for them.”
Tottenham confirm two test events ahead of new stadium opening The second event will feature a team of Spurs Legends taking on Bayern attention to and highlight Spurs Ladies, who are set
Tottenham Stadium test event: Paul Gascoigne shares pictures
UEFA Nations League: 6 Players Who Were Unlucky to Miss Out on England's Squad Jamie Clarke 28 May 2019 Gareth Southgate named his final 23-man squad on Monday for next month's UEFA Nations League
UEFA Nations League: English players who were unlucky to miss
Southampton Football Club can today confirm the departure of Chairman Ralph Krueger. Following recent talks with shareholders Mr Gao and Katharina Liebherr, it was agreed by all parties that Ralph's contract would not be extended beyond its end date of June 30th.
ANNOUNCEMENT: New Chairman appointed - Southampton FC
Liverpool vs Chelsea: Demba Ba mocks Steven Gerrard over THAT
Benjamin Mendy flips the bird as Man City star celebrates Barcelona beating Liverpool from stands as he watches pals Umtiti and Dembele The French left-back was at the Nou Camp and went wild when
PES 2019 Players Overall Ratings Update | FC BARCELONA Full
Juventus vs Ajax live on talkSPORT 2: Full commentary and
Jurgen Klopp and James Milner send poignant messages to Liverpool fan who has just days to live Daily Mail 15:41 31-May-19 Without 'Milly', it wouldn't work at Liverpool, says Jurgen Klopp talkSPORT 15:15 31-May-19
Jurgen Klopp on why James Milner is Liverpool's 'new
Manchester United: The worst decisions made by Red Devils chiefs since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement Wednesday, 8 May 2019 ( 3 weeks ago ) It has not been plain sailing for Manchester United since legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson retried in 2013.
Manchester United news: 'Paul Pogba & Fred is worst midfield
Manchester United transfer news: Wilfried Zaha reveals he gets messages on social media asking him to return to Old Trafford by Raphael Honigstein 31 mins ago 31 mins ago 0 0
Wilfried Zaha responds to transfer speculation over Man Utd
Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand, has hailed Ajax's 19-year-old captain, Matthijs De Ligt, after the Dutch side sent Juventus crashing out of the Champions League on Tuesday.
News list for ajax star matthijs de ligt reveals he has
One player every Premier League club should consider selling during summer as transfer window opens access_time Posted on May 19, 2019 by BLOGGERPARUNG Be prepared for plenty of deals throughout the summer right up until the deadline on August 8.
One player every club in the Premier League must not sell
Safety first The defender briefly returned to the game after suffering concussion before being helped off the pitch looking disorientated Tottenham followed all the correct protocols after Jan Vertonghen suffered a serious head injury against Ajax, Mauricio Pochettino insisted last night.
Jan Vertonghen injury news: Tottenham manager Mauricio
You can listen to live commentary of the Nations League semi-final on talkSPORT from 7.45pm. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has explained why Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk is unlikely to EVER win the Ballon dâ Or.[BREAK]Van Dijk is set to lead the Netherlands out against England on Thursday night in Guimarães in the Nations League semi-final.[BREAK]â Virgil van Dijk is getting close to be
John Barnes tips Liverpool FC star to win Ballon d'Or - One
Liverpool fan tells talkSPORT club is 'cursed' after missing
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says Mohamed Salah's form was never a worry (Pic: GETTY) "I was not one second worried" Jurgen Klopp. After champions Manchester City suffered their first defeat of the season, the Reds now sit pretty at the top of the Premier League.
Virgil van Dijk: The personal heartache driving Liverpool's £
No comments:
Post a Comment