Paris Saint-Germain submit Arsenal 'complaint' ahead of Champions League semi-final

Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly lodged a complaint to UEFA after the number of away fans permitted inside the Emirates Stadium for Tuesday night's Champions League clash with Arsenal was lowered.

The two sides will clash in north London for the first-leg of the semi-final for a place in the final. Earlier in the season, the Gunners ran out 2-0 comfortable winners but the form of Ousmane Dembele and others have sparked new life into Luis Enrique's side.

In their previous visit to London, PSG had been granted 3,000 tickets. For Tuesday night, their allocation has been cut down to 2,500, falling below the five percent of the Emirates Stadium's capacity, as required by UEFA regulations.

The decision has come from Metropolitan Police amid safety concerns regarding the visiting fans. The concerns come after a number of seats inside the stadium were broken on their last visit.

RMC Sport have reported that PSG complained about the allocation to UEFA, but the number of supporters will remain at 2,500. The report adds that PSG chiefs had attempted to discuss terms with local authorities in London but to no success.

Club bosses are said to be 'particularly dissatisfied' with the timing. Arsenal are said to have discussed the possibility of allowing 3,000 tickets to be sold before the Met stepped in.

The Gunners have announced they will only have 2,000 tickets for next week's trip to Paris. This allocation is also less than UEFA's five percent requirement, but PSG are allowed to reduce that to 4.1 percent due to a request from local police at the start of the season.

Liverpool and Aston Villa fans both received similar allocations for their visit to the Parc des Princes this season. The Arsenal Supporter Trust has called for the club to submit an official complaint to UEFA.

“It’s not fair that every club that plays a Champions League game in Paris has less tickets for their supporters,” AST board member Tim Payton told the Guardian. “We don’t expect it will make much difference for next week’s second leg but the new format means that English clubs are going to be playing PSG more regularly over the next few years so something needs to change.”

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