Football Federation Offers Support for Mkhitaryan

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NYON, Switzerland (Armenpress) — Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Arsenal will be given the full support of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) in order to secure a visa for the Armenia international to play in the Europa League final in Azerbaijan next month if the club reach the May 28 showpiece in Baku, ESPN reported citing sources familiar with the matter, the organization announced on April 16.

Mkhitaryan, captain of the Armenian national football team and midfielder for Arsenal, was omitted from the Gunners’ squad last year for a match that took place in Baku.

Earlier in 2015 when Mkhitaryan was with Borussia Dortmund, the German club decided not to take the Armenian international to Baku for a match against Gabala due to “security reasons.”

Azerbaijan currently bans citizens of Armenia from entering its territory.

The Europa League final will take place in the Azerbaijani capital.

“European football’s governing body has insisted that all efforts will be made to ensure that the process runs smoothly”, ESPN said in an article.

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A UEFA spokesperson told ESPN FC: “It is a standard procedure for UEFA to send letters of support to associations, clubs or embassies in order to obtain visas for players and allow them to play in UEFA competition matches.”

 

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