Arsenal vs Chelsea in Baku
Some Arsenal and Chelsea fans plus a batch of English reporters have arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Tuesday.
On Wednesday night, the Gunners will face the Blues in the Europa League final.
UEFA’s decision to play the final in Baku has come under a lot of criticism recently.
Perhaps the biggest controversy surrounds Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Mkhitaryan has decided to stay in London, arguably missing the biggest match of his career, due to safety concerns.
Armenia have long-standing political tensions with Azerbaijan.
Arsenal fans share Baku horror stories
Other complaints about Baku is that it’s simply not suitable to host such a major event.
There have been claims that the airport has capacity problems while travelling to Azerbaijan from Britain is a major pain in the neck.
And then there’s the price. Azeris are cashing in on the Europa League final, and travellers are being asked to pay ridiculous amounts of money for basics like lodging.
Now the horror stories have started to leak out on social media.
One story which keeps coming up are claims that locals, including hotels, are trying to backtrack on agreements in order to hike up fees.
That’s left fans being relocated around the city, while some haven’t been that lucky.
Booked our Baku apartment months ago and so got it for peanuts, just got a message from the owner telling me it’s no longer available and asking me to cancel so he can rent it out for more… #HomelessInBaku 🤷🏻♂️🙄 @bookingcom
— gjs1601 (@gjs1601) May 27, 2019
#Baku
Got an email this morning from the hotel stating that my booking has been cancelled 2 days before the game. Searched the hashtag on twitter to realize many ppl are complaining due to the same issue with other hotels. That’s unethical & unprofessional @EuropaLeague @UEFA— Hamad (@HamadUst) May 27, 2019
Journalists get shifted about in Baku
Many thanks to the lads at my Baku hotel who decided to cancel the booking “a few days ago” without telling me. #AFC and #CFC fans who are coming out tomorrow, make sure you check your reservations.
— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) May 27, 2019
Update: I have been moved to another hotel in a different part of Baku which “isn’t full”. The first hotel paid for the taxi here, at least.
— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) May 27, 2019
Oh and great, my hotel has not got a room for me, despite me ringing to double check they did have one. Farcical. No sleep, told nothing they can do. Won’t have one until 2pm which is seven and a half hours time. Meltdown incoming
— Luke Edwards (@LukeEdwardsTele) May 28, 2019
Moved to another hotel and have a bed exactly 24 hours after I left my own. Can’t wait to write my what’s Baku like colour piece later 😒 pic.twitter.com/zPexsxHFym
— Luke Edwards (@LukeEdwardsTele) May 28, 2019
Arsenal fan gets conned
In a slightly different situation, another Arsenal fan revealed how he’d been conned by an online listing.
Booked accommodation in Baku, the first two photos were of the bathroom on the website.
The last photo is what we have been met with.
Have you ever seen anything more Europa league?😭🤢 pic.twitter.com/pIsuRra1rr
— El Rosé 🇦🇿 (@AaronBSM) May 28, 2019
Taxis in Baku
Another theme which is cropping up on social media are stories about taxis in Baku.
Yeah chuffed my taxi driver has decided to stop for petrol on the way to the hotel. No rush, take your time.
— Luke Edwards (@LukeEdwardsTele) May 28, 2019
One piece of advice: Arsenal and Chelsea fans should haggle with taxi drivers, who seem happy to try to rip them off.
First guy said 100 manat to me, second guy said 40, third guy agreed to 25. Airport staff said it should cost around 15 🤷♂️
— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) May 27, 2019
Btw anyone coming to Baku airport use the Bolt app. Maximum we paid was 10 AZN.
Taxis at the airport were trying to charge 100 AZN which is like £50😐
— El Rosé 🇦🇿 (@AaronBSM) May 28, 2019
And finally…
I’ve seen Hleb and his Borisov lot hammer down a burger for breakfast and I’ve bumped into Cameron Diaz at Starbucks in Paris airport, but this is definitely the new highlight of this season’s Europa League tour.
Arshavinnnnnnnnnn!!!! (He looks thrilled 😂) pic.twitter.com/5S3ued9dx3
— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) May 28, 2019
Also see: Arsene Wenger didn’t dribble past Zinedine Zidane. Here’s video showing what actually happened.
N’Golo Kante injury update before Chelsea vs Arsenal.
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