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Arsenal announced his official decision on Tuesday, and Gooners everywhere are cursing UEFA for it.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan will not travel to Baku, Azerbaijan, for the Europa League final against Chelsea because his safety cannot be guaranteed by UEFA or Azerbaijan.
"We're very disappointed to announce that @HenrikhMkh will not be travelling with the squad for our #UELfinal against Chelsea."
Full statement— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) May 21, 2019
The statement read:
“We have thoroughly explored all the options for Micki to be part of the squad but after discussing this with Micki and his family we have collectively agreed he will not be in our traveling party.
“We have written to UEFA expressing our deep concerns about this situation. Micki has been a key player in our run to the final so this is a big loss for us from a team perspective.
“We’re also very sad that a player will miss out on a major European final in circumstances such as this, as it is something that comes along very rarely in a footballer’s career.”
English clubs make up all four of the European finalists this season, but they’ve spent most of the buildup to the finals complaining. Some grievances are silly, but many are legitimate, particularly those surrounding the Europa League final.
Back in September of 2017, UEFA awarded the 2019 Europa League final hosting rights to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Not too much was thought about it at the time, but as we’ve grown closer to the final — and English clubs realized they’d be in it — more attention has been brought to the decision.
There are a few problems with hosting a big final in Azerbaijan. The reason most fans in London are upset is the absurd difficulty and cost one faces to travel from England to Baku to attend the match. Fans must take 25-hour trips to airports across Europe just to reach Baku. For this reason, neither club has sold all of its tiny ticket allotment of 6,000.
Some #TuesdayThoughts from @UnaiEmery_
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) May 21, 2019
But the biggest issue is for Mkhitaryan and any other Armenians who would like to attend the match.
Azerbaijan does not have diplomatic relations with Armenia after the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The current conflict, essentially a land dispute, dates back to 1988 but flared up as recently as April 2016.
Because of this, Armenians are not typically granted visas to enter Azerbaijan, though a few exceptions have been made in the past for politicians and athletes. However, safety is not guaranteed. Mkhitaryan has appeared in 11 of 14 Europa League matches this season, the only match he wasn't in the 18 for was the trip to Qarabag in Azerbaijan.
Recently, Azerbaijan’s UK ambassador Tahir Taghizadeh made some ominous comments about the possibility of Mkhitaryan traveling to Baku.
“My message to Mkhitaryan would be: You’re a footballer, you want to play football? Go to Baku you are safe there,” Taghizadeh told Sky Sports. “If you want to play the issue then that’s a different story. What I can guarantee is that the Azerbaijan government will do everything what needs to be done and provide safety and security for every fan, player and staff member coming to this game.”
Essentially, you have a diplomat saying Mkhitaryan will probably be safe unless he wants to talk about politics. In other words, he can’t guarantee Mkhitaryan’s safety.
The line “If you want to play the issue then that’s a different story” is absolutely terrifying and it’s no wonder Mkhitaryan doesn’t want to travel to Azerbaijan next week for the Europa League final. Football is hugely important, but so is staying alive.
“He wants to play to help us but it’s a personal decision. I respect that.”@UnaiEmery_ on @HenrikhMkh and the #UELfinal
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) May 21, 2019
This, of course, is all on UEFA.
Ensuring the safety of players and fans at its competitions should be its first and most important priority. Awarding the hosting rights to a big European final to a country that cannot ensure the safety of the players involved is a massive dereliction of duty.
We can forgive UEFA for playing a final in a far-off country with difficult travel to reach — the stadium will still be full of local fans and that’s OK. What isn’t OK is forcing a key player on one of the teams to miss out because UEFA chose to play the final in a country that is so hostile to a neighboring country that his life would be on the line if he chose to play in one of the biggest games of his career.
Clearly the decision to play the Europa League final in Baku was made more for monetary reasons than providing an even playing field, not that we should be surprised given the history of UEFA and FIFA.
Honestly, if Arsenal didn’t need this win to qualify for the Champions League, I think a boycott would be justified. But Unai Emery knows the only way he can really look back on his first season in North London as a success is if he beats Chelsea in the Europa League final.
He’ll just have to do it without one of his best attacking players.
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