PSG submit Arsenal complaint to UEFA ahead of Champions League semi-final

PSG and Arsenal are at loggerheads ahead of Tuesday's Champions League semi-final first leg, with chiefs at the Ligue 1 champions now urging UEFA to get involved

PSG have been left furious with Arsenal after the number of tickets offered to their fans was cut on the orders of police. The Ligue 1 champions travel to the Gunners for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday night.

The two sides previously met in the league phase at the Emirates Stadium, with the hosts running out comfortable 2-0 winners. PSG will return to London seeking revenge as they eye their first place in the Champions League final since 2020.

But they will be backed by less fans than usual for their clash with Mikel Arteta's men. The French side had been granted 3,000 tickets for the league phase game back at the start of October.

That figure represent five percent of the Emirates Stadium's capacity, as required by UEFA regulations. But the decision has been made to cut PSG's allocation down to 2,500 tickets for this week's game.

That decision came on the orders of the Metropolitan Police over safety concerns. The concerns are believed to stem from a number of seats that were broken on their previous visit, though PSG have insisted these were repaired at their expense.

And RMC Sport now report that despite PSG lodging a complaint with UEFA, the allocation will remain at 2,500. Chiefs from the French side had also made an effort with local authorities in London to allow the allocation to be increased.

Those efforts have failed though, with PSG bosses said to be 'particularly dissatisfied' with the timing of events. Arsenal had initially discussed the possibility of allocating 3,000 tickets to away fans before the Met stepped in.

A meeting last Thursday failed to find a breaktrhough in the deadlock, with PSG left confused over the reasoning for the cut in their allocation. There are also simmering tensions over next week's return leg.

Arsenal have announced they will be handed only 2,000 tickets for the clash at the Parc des Princes. This is also less than UEFA's five percent requirement, though PSG were given special dispensation to reduce it to 4.1 percent before the start of the season owing to a request from local police.

The Gunners are now being urged to submit an official complaint of their own to UEFA. The club's Arsenal Supporters Trust is calling for the move, having been left furious by the small allocation.

The AST have received the backing of Liverpool's Spirit of Shankly group and Aston Villa's supporters trust. The two clubs received similar allocations for their games at the Parc des Princes earlier in the knockout rounds.

“It’s not fair that every club that plays a Champions League game in Paris has less tickets for their supporters,” AST board member Tim Payton told the Guardian. “We don’t expect it will make much difference for next week’s second leg but the new format means that English clubs are going to be playing PSG more regularly over the next few years so something needs to change.”