The Vorskla vs Arsenal game has gone through a major change: Here’s all you need to know

Arsenal were due to take on Vorskla in the Europa League on Thursday and growing political tensions in Ukraine had cast a shadow over the whole fixture.

The Gunners had urged UEFA to reschedule the match after the Ukrainian president had enforced martial law in various parts of the country – due to conflicts with neighbouring Russia.

UEFA though made it clear that the fixture will go on as scheduled but proper measures would be taken to ensure the safety of the team as well as the travelling fans.




But now UEFA have decided to make a significant change and shift the match from Poltava to Kiev.

A statement said: “UEFA’s Emergency Panel has today taken the decision to relocate FC Vorskla Poltava’s UEFA Europa League group stage match against Arsenal FC from the city of Poltava, following the introduction of martial law into certain regions in Ukraine.




“The match will now take place at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev on Thursday 29 November at 18:55CET.




“UEFA will continue to monitor and assess the security situation in Ukraine in the coming days before making any decision on potentially relocating other matches. “

While Poltava is not one of those areas where martial laws have been enforced but the basic problem was with Kharkiv since the travelling fans would use the airport in that area to travel back home.

While the shift from Poltava to Kiev will be of massive help to the Arsenal team primarily due to the better weather conditions but it will surely be a nightmare for the 500 odd fans who have already made it to Poltava.

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