UEFA have defended their decision to stage the Europa League final in Baku following a letter from finalists Arsenal, who sought an explanation from European soccer's governing body because of the inconvenience caused to their traveling fans. Arsenal face Chelsea at Azerbaijan's Baku Olympic Stadium on May 29 with supporters struggling to secure flights for the near 6,000-mile round trip as well as accommodation ahead of the club's first European final in 13 years. "UEFA has committed to appoint hosts only via a fair and transparent bidding process where the candidates have to provide evidence of their ability to stage the event on the basis of a number of criteria," UEFA competitions director Giorgio Marchetti said in a statement. "The bidding process for a club competition final is held a couple of years in advance, meaning that the exact circumstances in which the final will have to be organized cannot be known at the time of the appointment." UEFA said an all-English final played by two London teams was not a predictable event at the time when the venue was decided and promised to work with both clubs to assist fans. "There is little doubt that this has added significant difficulties to the event logistics," the statement added. "We're really sorry for the problems your (and Chelsea's) fans are encountering trying to organize their journey to Baku. Our experts are keenly working on this matter with a view to help find cheaper solutions for traveling fans." Arsenal had earlier said that they are "bitterly disappointed" that only 6,000 of their traveling supporters can get tickets to watch the Europa League final with Chelsea in Baku and have urged UEFA to explain their decision to stage the showpiece event in Azerbaijan. "Everyone at Arsenal is delighted to have reached the UEFA Europa League final and we are all very much looking forward to the match against Chelsea on Wednesday, May 29," Arsenal said in a statement on Thursday. "However, we are bitterly disappointed by the fact that due to transport limitations UEFA can only make a maximum of 6,000 tickets available to Arsenal for a stadium with a capacity of well over 60,000. "Time will tell if it is even possible for 6,000 Arsenal fans to attend the match, given how extreme the travel challenges are." There are no direct scheduled flights between London and Baku in the week of the final, while prices of any remaining connecting flights have rocketed to well beyond 1,000 pounds ($1,282). Arsenal said they have received many complaints from travelling fans who are desperate to attend the final. "On behalf of our fans, we would like to understand the criteria by which venues are selected for finals, and also how supporter requirements are taken into account as part of this," the club added. "Moving forward we would urge UEFA to ensure that supporter logistics and requirements are a key part of any future decisions for final venues as what has happened this season is unacceptable, and cannot be repeated. We would be happy to join any future discussions to avoid this situation happening again." Arsenal' Henrikh Mkhitaryan is a doubt for the final due to the ongoing conflict between Azerbaijan and his native Armenia, as was the case earlier in the competition when Arsenal beat Qarabag during the group stages. — Reuters
