Bernardo Silva is tremendous.
Arsenal have confirmed that Mkhi will miss the final as they cannot gurantee his saftery as there is tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan
That alone should see Azerbaijan banned as a host for any European football, never mind a final.
I saw the the Azerbaijan president are whatever his title was state that the Azerbaijan goverment assured Arsenal and UEFA weeks ago that it is safe for Mkhi to roll through to Baku. Its embarassing really. Google states the tension is related to some land call Nagorno-Karabakh. Its 2019, just start a war and the winner takes it.
I wonder if he even wants to go. The beef is fairly strong.
Ramil Sahib oglu Safarov is an officer of the Azerbaijani Army who was convicted of the 2004 murder of Armenian Army Lieutenant Gurgen Margaryan. During a NATO-sponsored training seminar in Budapest, Safarov broke into Margaryan's dormitory room at night and axed Margaryan to death while he was asleep.
In 2006, Safarov was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in Hungary with a minimum incarceration period of 30 years. After his request under the Strasbourg Convention, he was extradited on August 31, 2012 to Azerbaijan, where he was greeted as a hero, pardoned by Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev despite contrary assurances made to Hungary, promoted to the rank of major and given an apartment and over eight years of back pay. According to Azerbaijani authorities, Safarov was pardoned in compliance with Article 12 of the convention. Following Safarov's pardon, Armenia severed diplomatic relations with Hungary and immediate protests broke out in Yerevan. The extradition was widely condemned by international organizations and governments of many countries, including the US, Russia and France.
It's a shame Arsenal don't just say "Politics have no place in football and failure to provide safe passage to one of our players is absolutely unthinkable in this day and age." and protest the match entirely.
They all should, really. Alas, Champions League is more important than anything else.
There's a good Simon Reeve episode about Nagorna Karathingy, in his places that don't exist series.
The seethe about the final host is more entertaining than the match will be.
One of the Euro 2020 quarter finals is in Baku. It would be very lol if Armenia were to qualify, because UEFA's awful tournament structure means a team from any group stage group could end up in that game.
Gibraltar and Spain got separated a few years ago as I recall. An Armenia game in Baku would go the same way, no?
I wonder what would have happened if an Armenian club had somehow made it to the Europa League final.
Why is it we even have these countries in UEFA? Israel, alright, because nobody in their area would play them otherwise (and they all come from Europe); and I suppose Armenia could swing a pass on religion; but by what measure have the likes of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan ever been considered European? Historically speaking you could make a better case for Lebanon.
There is a crude measure that says Europe is everything west of the Urals.
I assume we welcome them into the fraternity of European football because they have natural resources money that UEFA would quite like to take off them.
Azerbaijan are definitely an oil or natural gas one, right?
Azerbaijan and the others have been in since independence. Kazakhstan burgled their way in later on the basis that a tiny portion of the west of the country can be considered to be in geographic Europe by some measures (and it's far better to be in UEFA than to be in the AFC).
I don't think it's gas money as let's face it, they're all shit.
UEFA said that any country resulting from the breakup of the Soviet Union could join their confederation. Makes far more sense than Gibraltar being a member, but whatever
They would swap venues. I seem to remember them doing this in a tournament once, might have been Afcon or might have been cricket.
Harder work with all the money tied up in European football though.
It would be a logistical nightmare. Shuttle bus to Sochi?
Can we pool our money and match-fix this into existence?
It's only right that Niki Lauda should receive such a tribute.
Why would you want a statue of that asshole anyway?
To match the airport they named after him.
It looks like Stan Boardman.
Tottenham have confirmed their victory parade plan for the champions leeague will take place a day after the final. It will last about an hour.
https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/new...y-parade-plan/
Do clubs normally announce that sort of thing this prematurely?
It would never happen on my watch.
Congrats scousers.
Aye, they need to plan potential road closures and diversions. And then they cancel if it doesn't pan out.
There were pictures of the ready to go podium outside Anfield the other week. They have to do it.
Edit there we go
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...mq331AQCKAE%3D
Last edited by Danny; 23-05-2019 at 06:59 PM.
They had a replica trophy there as well, you know.
HCMCFC can go 5pts clear today. Hanoi beaten away to Nam Dinh last night is a massive result for us. We beat SLNA tonight and we are in a great position.
Ho Chi Minh City Football Club (Vietnamese: Câu lạc bộ Bóng đá Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh) is a professional football club, based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The team play in the V.League 1, the highest level of Vietnamese football in the 2017 season after winning the Vietnam's second tier league in the 2016 season in the V.League 2. The club was formerly known as Cang Sai Gon.
Straight from Wiki.
Oh look, mokkers doesn't approve. Colour me level 10 shocked.
I'm sure you are all delighted that WE WON 2-1.
5 fucking points clear.
I'm sure you are all delighted that WE WON 2-1.
5 fucking points clear.