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Arsenal v Cologne Europa League kick-off delayed by an hour

Reuters
Soccer Football - Arsenal vs 1. FC Koln - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - September 14, 2017 General view of police and FC Koln fans outside the stadium REUTERS/David Klein

Kick-off in the Europa League group stage match between Arsenal and FC Cologne was delayed by an hour on Thursday in the interests of crowd safety, the North London club said.

The group H clash was due to kick-off at 1905 GMT. However, Arsenal's official Twitter account announced that kick-off had been delayed just 45 minutes before the match.

"The kick-off of #AFCvCOL has been delayed by an hour in the interests of crowd safety," the club said.

Earlier in the day, British media reported that 20,000 Cologne fans had made their way through London on their way to the Emirates, although only 3,000 tickets were allocated for the German club.

Media reports suggested that the volume of fans around the stadium was preventing home supporters getting in, and therefore had necessitated the delay.

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