Baku / 30.05.19 / Turan: The big Europa League final in Baku was a success. The derby of two clubs from Foggy Albion - Chelsea and Arsenal on the Caspian coast turned out to be spectacular. The football atmosphere around was also festive and was not overshadowed by serious incidents, despite the fact that both teams had solid support from fans both from the UK and other countries, and local fans.
Given the violent nature of the British fans, there were certain concerns about the relative clashes between them, as has happened more than once in Europe. There were no major incidents; the evening before, English fans of Chelsea and Arsenal had a fight. As a result, a Chelsea fan was hospitalized.
In another case, an ethnic Azerbaijani from Russia suffered, quarreling with local fans.
The British behaved traditionally noisily, singing songs, shouting and dancing, copiously consuming alcohol. However, due to the restraint of the Baku residents and the vigilance of the police, there was no other conflict.
In general, numerous foreign fans of both teams felt very comfortable in Baku. Many cafes and restaurants in the center hung the banners of both clubs, inviting them for lunch and dinner, where the fans of the two teams coexisted peacefully at the adjacent tables.
The wide geography of the fans who came from different countries, including the most distant ones, African states, China, Japan, Thailand, and others, struck. But most of all there were, probably, guests from Russia.
The red colors of the FC Arsenal fans visually dominated. It was noticeable in the stadium. But in general, the audience sympathies were on the side of FC Chelsea, which is connected with the scandal because of Mkhitaryan"s refusal to come to Baku.
While in Baku, FC Arsenal players promised to dedicate their victory to Mkhitaryan. Claims were also made from the FC Arsenal camp regarding the distance to Baku.
FC Chelsea behaved correctly, focusing only on football. They confirmed their reputation as "aristocrats" and earned the respect of the Baku public. The game was also remembered by the presence of many VIPs in the stands. So the match was watched by the first persons of the country - the Aliyev couple.
To cheer for Chelsea, its President Roman Abramovich flew to Baku - he has been recently deprived of the pleasure of doing it in England because of the visa restrictions of the British authorities.
The VIP box also hosted the legendary Luis Figo and the entire UEFA leadership headed by Alexander Cheferin.
For Azerbaijan, the final of the Europa League was a good test before preparing for the Euro 2020 games, when Baku will accept three matches in the group stage and a quarter-final. It remains to hope that the shortcomings and blunders will be eliminated, and most importantly, direct flights to Baku will be opened from many directions. Logistical problems caused the most complaints from foreign fans.-06B-
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