The Guardian, UK
Uefa investigates claims turnstiles were opened in Baku to fill empty seats
• Local officials alleged to have taken action against Uefa wishes
• Governing body looking into it with stadium authorities
Press Association
Fri 16.13 BSTLast modified on Fri 16.43 BST
Empty seats at the Europa League final in Baku. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Uefa is investigating claims that local officials opened the turnstiles at Baku’s Olympic Stadium during the Europa League final on Wednesday because of embarrassing pictures of empty seats.
A lack of direct flights, the price of charter options and the usual concerns about high ticket prices and accommodation costs resulted in Chelsea and Arsenal returning around half of their 6,000-ticket allocations.
There were vast expanses of empty seats at the start of the game, won 4-1 by Chelsea, and the Times has reported that the Azerbaijan authorities ordered stadium staff to open the turnstiles, contrary to Uefa’s wishes.
It quotes an Arsenal fan saying “lots of local people, including kids” arrived in their section, holding Arsenal flags, about 30 minutes into the game.
Asked whether this was true, a Uefa spokesperson said: “We are looking into the alleged matter with the stadium authorities and have no further comment to make at this stage.”
Uefa said the official attendance was 51,370, the third-highest for a Europa League final. The stadium’s capacity is 69,000 but this was reduced to 62,000 for the final.
