UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has defended the decision to hold this season’s Europa League final in Baku and criticised English clubs over complaints.
The governing body was widely criticised for choosing Baku as the location for the European final between Premier League duo Arsenal and Chelsea , which Maurizio Sarri’s side won 4-1.
Many supporters were unable to attend the game due to ticketing and travel issues, meaning that both clubs failed to sell all of the 6,000 tickets they were given.
The location of the game also drew further criticism as it resulted in Henrikh Mkhitaryan deciding not to travel over safety concerns regarding the tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
However, Ceferin said that there would not have been an issue if the situation had been reversed and warned English teams that their regular criticisms don’t help their image in Europe.
“I was supported by 76 per cent of the (European) federations in my first (UEFA) election but not England,” Ceferin said during a talk at Oxford University, via the Daily Mail . “England supported the other candidate.”
“Whenever we have English clubs, whenever we have complaints, they’re mad! You don’t help yourself in the popularity within European football with that.
