• Kick-off on Thursday was delayed as away fans clashed with stewards • ‘In our view, the security concept and communication seemed inadequate’

Cologne have accused Arsenal and the Met Police of being ill prepared to manage crowds before their Europa League tie at the Emirates which was blighted by pre-match disturbances.

The German club apologised to Arsenal on behalf of what they called inexcusable behaviour from a small number of their fans. But they also claimed a lack of forward planning contributed to chaotic scenes before the match which saw away supporters engaged in skirmishes with stewards.

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In a statement, Cologne said: “Despite the tremendous experience of both the London security forces and Arsenal as a permanent partaker in European football, the organisers were unfortunately not adequately prepared for the task. In our view, the security concept and communication seemed inadequate and the police force too small.”

Cologne have been issued with four Uefa disciplinary charges relating to crowd disturbances, setting off fireworks, throwing of objects and acts of damage. Arsenal have been charged with a blocked stairway in the away section with all the cases to be heard next week by the Uefa control, ethics and disciplinary body.

Kick-off was delayed by an hour as police and stewards attempted to control the chaos through various means including holding fans for more than an hour behind security cordons outside the stadium. Around 20,000 German supporters travelled for the match, the team’s first European game for 25 years, far outstripping their 2,900 seat allocation. Fighting broke out in the away end before the game as Cologne supporters clashed with stewards. Extra police and police dogs were deployed and the match passed relatively peacefully despite flares being set off by visiting fans.

Arsenal pledged to carry out a full investigation. In a statement, the club said: “We would like to stress that fan safety was always our paramount concern and informed all decisions made.

“We worked in full consultation with police and Uefa officials on the night and in advance of the game and had taken extensive steps in advance to prevent tickets being sold to visiting supporters.

“This included a number of measures including ensuring no tickets were sold via general sale and that no red memberships purchased after the draw were able to be used to get tickets in the home end for this match. We also worked with our colleagues at Köln to stop supporters travelling without match tickets.

“The 3,000 tickets issued to Köln fans was in line with competition rules but it is clear many more visiting fans arrived, causing significant congestion and disturbance outside the stadium before kick-off. Many tickets were sold through touts and this is very disappointing. We have launched a full review into the circumstances surrounding the game and will ensure any lessons that can be learned are used in the future.”

It is understood many Cologne fans bought their tickets from Arsenal season ticket holders who did not want to or could not attend Thursday night’s game.



