Arsenal to change stadium name for Champions League clash with Porto due to little-known rule

Arsenal will be forced to change the name of their stadium for their crucial Champions League round of 16 second leg against Porto this evening.

The Gunners head into the game in need of a turnaround as they trail 1-0 on aggregate following the first leg in Portugal.

Mikel Arteta's men were largely dominant in the first match, but the tie was turned on its head with pretty much the last kick of the game.

Wenderson Galeno seized an opportunity on the left side following a misplaced pass from Gabriel Martinelli, unleashing a brilliant 25-yard strike past David Raya in the 94th minute.

Opta reports that Galeno's late goal was the first-ever 90th-minute winning goal conceded by Arsenal in a Champions League match a remarkable feat indeed but a streak that was ended at a damning time for Arteta's side.

While many will assume that Porto will be hoping to defend their slender advantage at the Emirates stadium, that actually isn't the case in the Champions League.

In European competition, the ground is very simply named as the 'Arsenal Stadium' because of a little-known UEFA rule.

This is because UEFA does not recognise stadium sponsors under their specific rules regarding sponsorships. This also affects fellow Premier League side Manchester City, as The Etihad is forced to be listed under its original name of The City of Manchester Stadium.

Arsenal fans at The Emirates

In fact, UEFA's sponsorship rules have also led to teams having to alter their names to comply. For instance, Austria's Red Bull Salzburg now goes by FC Salzburg and uses a modified crest to adhere to the regulations.

UEFA also has rather precarious rules around club ownership, with owners only able to have one club compete in the competition at a time.

While this rule seems an extremely reasonable one to have in such a prestige competition, it could actually affect both Manchester clubs.

This is due to Girona (the same owner as City) and Nice (the same owner as United) both battling it out for Champions League places in their respective leagues.

Topics: Arsenal, Champions League, Mikel Arteta, UEFA, Porto, Manchester City

Tom Jenkins

Tom Jenkins is a Social Editor and Journalist for SPORTBible. Specialises in Football and F1 but has experience covering a variety of sports such as MMA, Boxing and Cricket. Suffers weekly as an Evertonian.

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