Arsenal, Cologne Charged by UEFA Following Europa League Crowd Troubles

Arsenal and Cologne have both been charged by UEFA after the kick-off in their Europa League match on Thursday was delayed an hour amid crowd trouble.

According to BBC Sport, Arsenal have been charged because of blocked stairways, while the Bundesliga outfit face four, "including crowd disturbances and setting off fireworks," after 17,000 extra fans travelled to the game on top of their seat allocation of almost 3,000.

UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body will address the case on Thursday, September 21.

Cologne's other charges relate to throwing of objects and acts of damage, and five supporters were arrested by the police during the incident, which required the use of riot gear and dogs to control it.

Sky Sports News provided the situation as the announcement to delay kick-off was made:

Indeed, as captured by BBC Sport's Richard Conway, there were some ugly scenes at the Emirates Stadium prior to the match:

A great many Cologne fans were able to get into the ground, far beyond their allocated number, as noted by BT Sport's Archie Rhind-Tutt:

Many of their fans were also seated among the home support, as evidenced by their celebrations when Jhon Cordoba fired them into the lead after nine minutes.

Despite the early troubles, the Cologne fans were able to contribute to what was an electric atmosphere, which endured throughout the match even after Arsenal clawed their way back to win 3-1.

The Guardian's Amy Lawrence offered her view on what was a complex situation:

An inquiry by UEFA and potential sanctions was to be expected, with Cologne likely to receive stricter disciplinary action.

The Times' Henry Winter discussed a contributing factor UEFA should turn their attention to:

In a statement on their official website on Friday, Arsenal expressed their disappointment at ticket touting after having "taken extensive steps in advance to prevent tickets being sold to visiting supporters."