Cologne boss Stoger refuses to be drawn on crowd problems

Cologne head coach Peter Stoger offered “no comment” after crowd issues marred Thursday’s Europa League clash against Arsenal.

Stoger’s Cologne suffered a 3-1 loss to Arsenal following a one-hour delay to kick-off at the Emirates Stadium due to crowd congestion in London.

The Group H fixture did not get underway until 21:05pm BST as a reported 20,000 Cologne supporters descended on the English city despite only 3,000 tickets being available.

Some German fans made their way into the home end as riot police were deployed inside and outside the stadium.

Stoger refused to be drawn on the chaos when quizzed by reporters post-match.

“No comment,” Stoger responded. “My job is football and not the fans.”

Cologne made a dream start against their Premier League opponents, Jhon Cordoba’s stunning long-range effort breaking the deadlock in the ninth minute.

However, Cologne left London emptyhanded in their first European outing for 25 years as substitute Sead Kolasinac, Alexis Sanchez and Hector Bellerin inspired Arsenal in the second half.

“In the first half there was more in it for us. It went well for us,” goalkeeper Timo Horn told Sport1.

“I’m delighted for Jhon Cordoba, to score such a nice goal here. We struggled to cope with their pressure in the second half. They’ve got a lot of world-class players; even if they rested a few players. Giroud was always dangerous and Walcott is unbelievably quick.”