PSG Files Official Complaint Against Arsenal Over Player Deal

Paris Saint-Germain Accuses Arsenal in Dispute Over Transfer Terms

A crisis erupted between French club Paris Saint-Germain and English club Arsenal just hours before their highly anticipated clash on Tuesday evening in the first leg of the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League semi-final, which will be held at the Emirates Stadium in London.

Arsenal qualified for this round after defeating Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, while Paris Saint-Germain advanced after defeating Aston Villa 6-3 on aggregate.

The British newspaper, The Mirror, reported that a dispute arose between the two clubs after Arsenal's decision to reduce the number of tickets allocated to the French team's fans to only 2,500, compared to the 3,000 tickets that Paris Saint-Germain fans received during a previous visit to the Emirates Stadium in the group stage. According to sources in the English club, the decision was based on instructions from the London Police for security reasons, noting that damage was caused to the visiting stands during the previous match, despite Paris Saint-Germain confirming that it had repaired them at its own expense.

This decision prompted Paris Saint-Germain's management to file a formal complaint with UEFA, requesting its intervention. However, the French channel RMC Sport quoted informed sources as saying that UEFA decided to maintain the allocated number at 2,500. The channel added that the French club's efforts to persuade local authorities to increase the quota were fruitless, despite a meeting held on the matter last week, which ended without an agreement.