Identity The brand identity for the final was unveiled at the group stage draw on 31 August 2018, taking inspiration from several prominent buildings in Baku. The logo also incorporates Azerbaijan's nickname, the "Land of Fire", by adding a flame to the letter "A", and a common design in Azerbaijani rugs.
Ambassador , ambassador for the final. The ambassador for the final is former Netherlands international
Pierre van Hooijdonk, who won the
2001–02 UEFA Cup with
Feyenoord and finished as the top scorer, in which he scored two goals in the
final win against
Borussia Dortmund.
Ticketing and travel With a stadium capacity of 64,000 for the final, a total amount of 37,500 tickets are available to fans and the general public, with the two finalist teams receiving 6,000 tickets each, and with the other tickets being available for sale to fans worldwide via
UEFA.com from 7 to 21 March 2019 in four price categories: €140, €90, €50, and €30. The remaining tickets are allocated to the local organising committee, national associations, commercial partners, and broadcasters, and to serve the corporate hospitality programme. The match had an official attendance of 51,370, making it the third-largest crowd for a Europa League final, but the stadium had large sections of empty seats. Football commentators also decried the lack of atmosphere due to the empty seats and lack of interest from local residents. A report in
The Times claimed that local authorities had opened the turnstiles for ticketless fans during the first half to increase attendance and avoid embarrassment, without the authorisation of UEFA.
Controversy The handling of ticket pricing and travel logistics for English fans, including limited flights and visa requirements to enter Azerbaijan, was criticised by supporters groups representing fans of the two clubs.
Heydar Aliyev International Airport, the main airport serving Baku, was described as "too small" to accommodate the expected demand of the Europa League final, and was cited as a reason for the small ticket allocation for travelling fans. Arsenal and Chelsea had failed to sell out their individual allocations by the deadline in late May and planned to return 6,000 unsold tickets to UEFA; several sponsors with their own allocations also followed suit, citing disinterest from their clients. In an official statement, Arsenal described UEFA's decision to host the match in Baku as "unacceptable and cannot be repeated". UEFA was also criticised for accepting Azerbaijan as the host of the Europa League final, due to its
ongoing conflict with neighbouring Armenia. Arsenal's Armenian midfielder
Henrikh Mkhitaryan was given permission to play in the match, but the club raised their concerns about his safety while in the country. Mkhitaryan and Arsenal ultimately decided that he would not travel with the squad to the final match, while the club planned to meet with UEFA after the match to discuss the situation. Several fans from the United Kingdom of Armenian descent were initially denied their entry visas, but allowed into the country after intervention from UEFA.
Amnesty International's UK branch criticised the choice of Azerbaijan on the basis of its
human rights violations, calling the hosting of the final an "attempt to
sportswash its image".
Related events The first UEFA Europa League Trophy Tour visited eight European cities, beginning on 5 March 2019 at the
Geneva Motor Show, followed by Seville, Berlin, London, Milan, Moscow and Paris, before concluding in the host city, Baku, on 16 May 2019.
Officials On 13 May 2019, UEFA named Italian
Gianluca Rocchi as the referee for the final. Rocchi has been a
FIFA referee since 2008, and was previously the fourth official in the
2010 and
2017 Europa League finals. He also officiated the
2017 UEFA Super Cup between Real Madrid and Manchester United. He was joined by five of his fellow countrymen, with Filippo Meli and Lorenzo Manganelli as assistant referees,
Daniele Orsato as the fourth official,
Massimiliano Irrati as the
video assistant referee, and
Marco Guida as one of the assistant VAR officials. The other assistant VAR for the final was
Szymon Marciniak from Poland, with his compatriot Paweł Sokolnicki serving as the offside VAR official.
Team selection Chelsea's options in midfield were limited for the match; with
Ruben Loftus-Cheek and
Callum Hudson-Odoi both out and
N'Golo Kanté facing a late fitness test after suffering a knee injury in training four days before the game, there was the possibility that
Jorginho,
Mateo Kovačić and
Ross Barkley would be the three to take the midfield positions in their usual 4–3–3 formation. Defender
Antonio Rüdiger was also a long-term absentee with damage to the meniscus in his left knee. Despite Kanté missing training the Sunday before the game, he returned to the starting line-up alongside Jorginho and Kovačić after being rested for Chelsea's final league game of the season against
Leicester City 17 days earlier. As well as Kanté and Kovačić in midfield, also restored to the team were goalkeeper
Kepa Arrizabalaga, defenders
Emerson Palmieri and
Andreas Christensen, and forwards
Eden Hazard and
Olivier Giroud. Hazard was potentially playing in his final game for Chelsea, having attracted the interest of Real Madrid over a possible transfer, while Giroud was a former Arsenal player, having signed for Chelsea for £18 million in January 2018. For Arsenal, midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan ruled himself out of selection for the match; the Armenian reportedly feared for his safety due to political tensions between his country and the host nation for the final, Azerbaijan. Also missing was midfielder
Aaron Ramsey, who had suffered a hamstring injury in the second leg of Arsenal's quarter-final against
Napoli, and right-back
Héctor Bellerín, who had ruptured his
anterior cruciate ligament in a 2–0 win over Chelsea in January 2019. In goal for Arsenal was former Chelsea goalkeeper
Petr Čech, playing in his final game before retirement, four years after making the move across London for a fee of £10 million. The only players to be retained from the starting line-up against
Burnley on the final day of the league season were
Nacho Monreal and
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, as Arsenal lined up in a 3–4–1–2 formation.
Opening ceremony English artist
Jonas Blue performed at the opening ceremony preceding the final, and was supported by 150 local dancers. ==Match==