UEFA Charges Arsenal, Koln Following Mass Fan Incident Ahead of Europa League Game
Both Arsenal and FC Koln have been charged by UEFA after the disruption caused before the two teams' Europa League opener on Thursday night.
London bore witness to masses of German fans arriving into the English capital ahead of the match, causing huge disturbances around the Emirates stadium as thousands of fans attempted to gain entry to the match without tickets.
It's been reported that as many as 20,000 FC Koln fans arrived into London on Thursday - despite only 2,900 away tickets being sold, and now according to various reports, UEFA have stepped in.
The Bundesliga outfit are facing fours charges from Europe's governing body - including crowd disturbances and setting off fireworks, whereas the hosts are on the receiving end of one charge over blocked stairways.
The case is set to be dealt with by the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body on September 21.
Once the game eventually kicked off (an hour after it was scheduled to), fans inside the Emirates were on the receiving end of a great game of football.
It only took nine minutes for the scoring to open when a scuffed clearance from Gunners keeper David Ospina allowed Jhon Cordoba to catch the Colombian off his line, lobbing Arsenal's stopper from the best part of 40 yards.
However, a resilient Arsenal knuckled down and managed to turn the game around in the second half.
Full back Sead Kolasinac levelled the score with a well struck volley inside the box on 49 minutes before star man Alexis Sanchez gave the Gunners the lead after 67 minutes; working a yard from his defender before curling an absolute peach into the back of the net from outside the box.
Hector Bellerin all but took the three points for the Gunners on 81 minutes - giving Arsenal their first opening day victory in Europe for four years.
