Arsenal’s Europa League fixture against Vorskla on Thursday has now been shifted to Kyiv from Poltava – UEFA confirmed in a statement.
The change was made after martial law has been implemented in various parts of Ukraine following growing tensions with neighbours Russia.
UEFA released a statement earlier this week saying:
“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.”
But this change seems to have done more good than bad for Arsenal.
The first major concern for the club are its 500 odd travelling fans who have already made the journey to Poltava and must now travel 200 miles in order to reach Kyiv before Thursday’s fixture.
The club have been swift to issue a statement stating that the welfare of their fans is their top priority.
“Following the decision to move our match against FC Vorskla to Kiev we’re working with UEFA and local authorities,” the statement read.
“The safety and welfare of our travelling fans is a top priority and we are in direct contact with the majority of the supporters who have made the trip. We will update with further information as soon as possible.”
But apart from the fans, the club themselves are going through a bit of a problem since a number of their staff have already reach Poltava before the squad and much like the fans they too much now make the journey to Kyiv.
Read: The Vorskla vs Arsenal game has gone through a major change.
Read: Arsenal receive a huge injury boost right before they take on Spurs in the London Derby.
