Arsenal Avoid UEFA Fine
Arsenal Avoid UEFA Fine After Air-Traffic Disruption Delays Champions League Trip
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Key Points
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Seventeen-year-old defender Marli Salmon was included in Arsenal’s 23-man squad after signing his first professional contract the previous month.
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Bruno GuimarĂŁes trained after recovering from the knock he sustained at Aston Villa and, despite being an unused substitute against Chelsea, could feature against Napoli.
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Napoli were expected to have Kevin De Bruyne available, but midfielder Scott McTominay was ruled out after undergoing successful surgery for an irregular heartbeat; he was expected to resume training in two weeks.
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Arsenal had won all eight of their league-phase matches in the previous Champions League campaign and were due to host Lille after Napoli before travelling to Bayern Munich.
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UEFA’s rules permit clubs to change their day-before-match arrangements in cases of force majeure, provided UEFA agrees: “Clubs may only change their MD-1 plans on account of force majeure and with the agreement of UEFA.”
Arsenal avoided a UEFA fine after a major UK air-traffic-control failure disrupted their Champions League trip to Napoli. The technical outage grounded over 1,000 flights across the UK, forcing the club to cancel Mikel Arteta's pre-match press conference. UEFA agreed the circumstances were beyond Arsenal's control, allowing the club to proceed without penalty.
The squad completed their scheduled training session before heading to Italy late, with defender Jurrien Timber traveling after groin surgery. Express reported the air-traffic issue affected thousands of passengers. Arsenal's domestic form remained strong heading into the match — they had won three straight Premier League games entering the fixture.
How a Technical Failure Grounded 1,000 Flights
A system failure at UK air-traffic control disrupted flights nationwide, affecting Arsenal's departure for Naples. MyLondon reported that over 1,000 flights were grounded due to the technical issue. The outage was resolved by 7:30 p.m., but the delays forced Arsenal to reschedule their travel plans and cancel the mandatory pre-match media event.
Arsenal trained at their Hertfordshire base as planned before waiting for the air-traffic system to recover. The squad then departed for Italy several hours behind schedule, arriving in Naples late. AOL noted the disruption left thousands of passengers stranded across multiple airports, not just Arsenal's chartered flight.
UEFA's Force Majeure Rule Shields Arsenal From Penalty
UEFA's competition rules permit clubs to change their day-before-match arrangements when force majeure prevents compliance, provided UEFA approves the change. The air-traffic failure qualified as an external, uncontrollable event. Because Arsenal had no responsibility for the outage, UEFA determined that canceling the pre-match press conference did not warrant a fine.
This decision reflects how UEFA balances standardized protocols with operational realities. Competition rules require uniformity across clubs, but they retain discretion for infrastructure failures beyond any team's control. The ruling shows UEFA treats media obligations as conditional rather than absolute when force majeure intervenes.
Arsenal's Squad Arrives Ready Despite Disrupted Preparation
Defender Jurrien Timber traveled with the squad after recovering from groin surgery, making him available for his first appearance since last season's Champions League final. Midfielder Bruno GuimarĂŁes trained after recovering from a knock sustained at Aston Villa. Seventeen-year-old defender Marli Salmon was included in the 23-man squad after signing his first professional contract.
Arsenal's late arrival in Naples pushed the team hotel check-in to approximately 9:30 p.m. local time, compressing the usual pre-match recovery schedule. However, the squad completed their planned training session before departing, preserving core preparation work. Cristhian Mosquera remained doubtful with a muscle injury, while Napoli faced multiple injury concerns under new manager Massimiliano Allegri.
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