Arsenal avoid UEFA fine after cancelling Champions League press conference

Arsenal have avoided a UEFA fine for missing the pre-match press conference ahead of their opening Champions League fixture against Napoli - who will be without Scott McTominay as he recovers from heart surgery. The Gunners have encountered severe travel disruption on their journey to Naples. Like hundreds, if not thousands, of other travelers, the North Londoners' plans have been thrown into disarray by flight delays. It's understood that a technical issue has been affecting air traffic control systems at airports across the UK. As a result of the delays, the Gunners were unable to arrive in Naples in time for their scheduled pre-match press conference. Clubs that fail to fulfill their media obligations are frequently hit with a fine by UEFA, as per The Mirror. Many sides routinely receive a financial penalty if their press conference is delayed by at least an hour. However, UEFA regulations do stipulate that pre-match arrangements can be altered if circumstances beyond a club's control require them to be. Their official rules state: "Clubs may only change their MD-1 plans on account of force majeure and with the agreement of UEFA." The technical problem affecting London's airports is entirely outside of the Gunners' control, meaning they will face no punishment from European soccer's governing body. Mikel Arteta's side typically departs for European fixtures via Luton Airport, which was among those impacted by the technical failure. Last campaign, Liverpool found themselves in a comparable situation when their travel arrangements were thrown into disarray. Prior to their group-stage match against Eintracht Frankfurt, a flight delay caused by "technical issues with the aircraft" resulted in the Merseysiders touching down in Germany later than anticipated.Despite being forced to skip their press conference, they escaped without a fine. While it affected their media commitments, it did nothing to prevent Liverpool from dispatching Eintracht convincingly. They rallied from behind to defeat the Bundesliga club 5-1, with Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai all getting on the scoresheet. Arsenal will undoubtedly be hoping for a similar outcome when they face Massimiliano Allegri's squad in Naples. The Gunners advanced all the way to the final in last season's competition, where they agonizingly lost on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain. Arteta's men were a force of nature during the group stage last season. They swept all eight of their fixtures, netting 23 goals and conceding just four. Following their opener against Napoli, they will then take on Lille, Bayern Munich, Slavia Prague, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, Real Betis, and Sabah.