UEFA charges Arsenal and Cologne over crowd problems

LONDON (Reuters) - Premier League club Arsenal blamed the selling of tickets by touts for the crowd problems at their Europa League game against German side FC Cologne as UEFA began disciplinary proceedings on Friday.

UEFA charges Arsenal and Cologne over crowd problems

(Reuters)





Cologne and Arsenal have been charged with various offences at the match which was delayed by an hour after large numbers of German fans descended on the Emirates Stadium, the majority of them without tickets.

Many bought tickets for areas of the stadium occupied by Arsenal supporters, causing segregation issues, although there were only isolated incidents of trouble once the game started.

Cologne criticised Arsenal's security and felt the police presence was not sufficient.

Arsenal said they had worked with the Metropolitan Police and UEFA in deciding whether the game, which the English team won 3-1, went ahead.

"Following last night's match we would like to stress that fan safety was always our paramount concern and informed all decisions made," Arsenal said in a statement.

"The 3,000 tickets issued to Cologne fans was in line with competition rules but it is clear many more visiting fans arrived, causing significant congestion and disturbance outside the stadium before kickoff.

"Many tickets were sold through touts and this is very disappointing," the club added.

"We worked in full consultation with police and UEFA officials on the night and in advance of the game and had taken extensive steps in advance to prevent tickets being sold to visiting supporters."

UEFA said Cologne had been charged with crowd disturbances, the setting off of fireworks, throwing objects and acts of damage to the stadium.

Arsenal were charged with a breach of safety and security regulations because of a blocked stairway in the away end, European soccer's ruling body said in a statement.

Arsenal have launched a full review into the circumstances surrounding the game.

They denied claims that some Cologne fans had acquired tickets by joining Arsenal's membership scheme.

"No red memberships purchased after the draw were able to be used to get tickets in the home end for this match," Arsenal said. "We also worked with our colleagues at Cologne to stop supporters travelling without match tickets."

Bundesliga club Cologne were playing in Europe for the first time for 25 years and an estimated 20,000 of their fans marched through the streets of London earlier in the day.

"The security concept and communication seemed inadequate and the police force too small," Cologne said in a club statement.

"Due to the enormous demand for tickets, it would have been sensible, not least for security reasons, to allow more than the allocated five percent of stadium capacity to the guest fans."

On the situation before the match, the statement added: "Despite the tremendous experience of both the London security forces and Arsenal as a permanent partaker in European football, the organisers were unfortunately not adequately prepared for the task."

Police said five people had been arrested, all on suspicion of public order offences.

UEFA's Ethics and Disciplinary Body will deal with the case on Thursday.





(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond and Toby Davis)


Share

3 min read

Published

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world