A clip of two Arsenal fans being stopped by Azerbaijan police for wearing a Henrikh Mkhitaryan shirt in Baku has emerged online.
Last week it was confirmed that Mkhitaryan would not be part of the Gunners' travelling squad for the Europa League final against Chelsea.
Armenians are not allowed to enter Azerbaijan because of the long-running conflict between the two countries, who have had no relations since the Nagorno-Karabakh war in 1994.
Though they explored different options, after speaking with the player and his family, Arsenal decided against including him in their squad over fears for his safety.
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And extraordinarily, things continue to be an absolute farce as a day before the game, two Gooners with 'Mkhitaryan #7' on the back of their shirts in Baku were stopped by local police for a chat.
While they aren't heavy handed, it's a joke that we're even in a position where fans are stopped just for having one of their favourite players on the back of their shirts.
kamaldin
172
This is just stupid . Micky made the right choice, if wearing his Jersey gets you stopped imagine if it were him .
Josep17
163
F2009
127
why even play the final in that stupid ass country then. uefa should of chose a country where every one is welcome
Dkanko
115
now that you are stopping fans, I wonder what you would have done to Mikhi
Vecacklmrs
66
one thing people have to understand is that when you go to Rome do what the Romans do don't try and impose your own rules like it's your country no, things don't work out like that. Those two Arsenal funs wore those shirts deliberately and it's an indirect insult to the people of that country, cause they themselves know the conflict between their own two countries and moreover the venue of the final was already set way back it was just unfortunate that only English teams made it to the finals and honestly speaking it's not fair trying to change the venue just because of that no every body deserves to have an experience of a final in their country so please quit whining about the whole thing.
literary
11
This is just stupid . Micky made the right choice, if wearing his Jersey gets you stopped imagine if it were him .
On the otherhand, it is quite risky wearing a armenian player shirt in Baku. I dont know if they understand the risk of wearing one. The police might just be worried for their safety.