Arsenal escape UEFA fine after being forced to cancel Champions League press conference

Arsenal face Napoli in their first match of the 2026-27 Champions League campaign, but their preparation has got off to an unideal start

Arsenal have escaped a UEFA for missing their pre-match press conference previewing their opening Champions League clash against Napoli. The Gunners have experienced severe travel chaos on their way to Naples.

Like hundreds, if not thousands, of travellers, the north Londoners plans have been impacted by flight delays. It's understood a technical problem has been affecting air traffic control systems around the London based airports.

As a result of the delays, the Gunners will not arrive in Naples in time for their scheduled pre-match press conference. Teams who do not fulfil their media obligations are often punished with a fine by UEFA.

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Many sides often receive a financial penalty if their conference is delayed by at least an hour., However, UEFA's rules do state pre-match plans can be changed if circumstances beyond their control forces them to do so.

Their official rules state: "Clubs may only change their MD-1 plans on account of force majeure and with the agreement of UEFA."

The technical issue impacting the London based airports is out of the Gunners control, meaning they will not be penalised by European football's governing body. Mikel Arteta's side typically travel to European matches via Luton airport, which has been impacted by the technical error.

Last season, Liverpool found themselves in a similar scenario when their travel plans were disrupted. Before their group-stage clash against Eintracht Frankfurt, a flight delay caused by "technical issues with the aircraft" resulted in the Merseysiders arriving in Germany later than expected.

Despite the fact they had to miss their conference, they were not fined. While it impacted their media obligations, it did not stop Liverpool from beating Eintracht convincingly.

They came from behind to overcome the Bundesliga side 5-1, with Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai all finding the net. Arsenal will certainly be hoping for a similar result when they face Massimiliano Allegri's side in Naples.

They got all the way to the final in last season's rendition, which saw them agonisingly lose on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

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