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Arsenal news: Europa League tie with Vorskla Poltava MOVED to Kiev amid security concerns
ARSENAL’s Europa League clash with Vorskla Poltava on Thursday has been moved to the city of Kiev.
The decision has been made following safety concerns.
UEFA’s Emergency Panel relocated the match following the introduction of martial law in certain regions in Ukraine.
The match will now take place at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium on Thursday 29 November at 5:55pm UK time.
UEFA have also confirmed that they will continue to keep an eye on the situation in Ukraine where tensions remain high.
It was reported yesterday that the match was due to go ahead.
Arsenal have been liaising with UEFA, Vorskla and the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FC0) about the current situation.
Russia captured three Ukrainian vessels off the coast of Crimea on Sunday.
Ukraine then considered this an “act of aggression” meaning the parliament got behind president Ptro Poroshenko’s decision to impose martial law for 30 days.
Poltava is near enough 200 miles east of Kiev where the match will now be played.
The Olimpiyskiy stadium hosted last season’s Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool.
Arsenal won the first fixture between the sides 4-2 at the Emirates.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice, Danny Welbeck and Mesut Ozil were also on target.
⚠️ We have an important update on Thursday's #UEL game against FC Vorskla ⚠️
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) November 27, 2018
Arsenal published UEFA’s full statement on their website.
Full UEFA statement:
UEFA's Emergency Panel has taken the decision on safety grounds to relocate our away match against FC Vorskla from Poltava to Kiev, following the introduction of martial law into certain regions in Ukraine.
The match will now take place at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev on Thursday, November 29, with kick-off at 5.55pm UK time (7.55pm local time).
We are currently working closely with UEFA and the relevant authorities to ensure the safety and welfare of all our supporters who have, and will be travelling to Ukraine for this match.
Further updates regarding the match arrangements for supporters will be made as soon as we have received confirmation from UEFA.