Arsenal will sell tickets on a first come first serve basis from Saturday ahead of next week, becoming the first Premier League team to welcome fans for a competitive game since March.
The UEFA Europa League group stage match against Austrian Bundesliga club Rapid Vienna at the 60,704-capacity Emirates Stadium will not use a ballot, but instead run a priority sale to Gold and Premium Members who made their initial payment and registered for the ballot in September.
Arsenal said in a statement that the different restrictions and guidelines for UEFA matches, coupled with the short timeframe to provide and receive information from fans, would have ultimately “created too many complications and a risk of confusion and disappointment for supporters.”
The London club is one of ten Premier League football clubs that will be permitted to welcome up to 2,000 fans to their home matches from next week following the announcement yesterday (Thursday) of the new tiered lockdown system in England.
The remaining clubs will continue playing home games behind closed doors as they are based in Tier 3 areas, which is deemed ‘very high’ on the COVID-19 alert level.
Clubs in Tier 2 (high alert) areas, where 2,000 fans will be allowed, include Liverpool, Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton, as well as the league’s six London-based teams: Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Fulham.
The clubs in Tier 3 are Manchester United, Manchester City, Leeds United, Sheffield United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leicester City, West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Burnley.
For more on this story, head over to our sister site TheStadiumBusiness.
Image: Arsenal
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