YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) respects Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s decision to miss the Europa League Final which will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, FFA First Vice President Armen Melikbekyan told reporters today.

“We were closely following all the developments, but in the current case Henrikh Mkhitaryan is not representing the Football Federation of Armenia. This is the matter of the club [London’s Arsenal] and the footballer. They have discussed it and came to that decision, and we respect that decision”, he said.

On May 22 London’s Arsenal confirmed that Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan will miss the Baku Europa League Final due to safety concerns.

In his turn Mkhitaryan commented on the situation in his social accounts: “Having considered all the current options, we had to take the tough decision for me not to travel with the squad to the Europa League Final. It‘s the kind of game that doesn’t come along very often for us players and I must admit, it hurts me a lot to miss it. I will be cheering my teammates on! Let‘s bring it home”.  

The Europa League Final will take place in Baku on May 29 where London’s Arsenal will face Chelsea.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan