Arsenal have been drawn against CSKA Moscow in the Quarterfinals of the Europa League and the game comes at a time when the political tensions between England and Russia are at its highest.
Both the countries are currently going through a diplomatic crisis after attacks on a former Russian spy and his daughter, supposedly using the nerve gas, Novichok. And the Arsenal versus CSKA game which is scheduled to be played over two legs has undoubtedly come at a fragile time.
Arsenal will travel to Moscow in the second leg of the tie on the 13th of April and the club decided to post warnings issued by the UK Foreign Office on their website – in regards to their travelling fans.
And this message and not gone down too well with the Russian football authorities.
Russia’s World Cup organising committee chief, Alexis Sorokin has assured the press that the travelling Arsenal fans have nothing to worry about when they travel to their country.
While speaking to the press, Sorokin said: “It is a shame that the games will be played in such circumstance,
“We will ensure security in equal measures to all — from dignitaries to fans.
“To us, there is no difference which country people come from or what our diplomatic relations with them are,
“There are absolutely no grounds for such warnings.”
Arsenal fans have been allocated 4000 tickets for the game in Russia but it is being reported that only a handful of fans are going to travel to Moscow.