Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will be allowed to be at pitch-side for today’s Champions League play-off second leg against Udinese after UEFA agreed to defer his two-match ban.

The London club and European football’s governing body confirmed the decision yesterday, after Arsenal appealed against the ban given to Wenger for breaking the terms of an earlier suspension during the first leg of their tie last week.

Arsenal had immediately indicated their intention to appeal, but decided to initially seek a delay to the ban before contesting it fully. UEFA have agreed to the request, granting Wenger some respite after a difficult few weeks.

Arsenal hold a 1-0 lead from the first leg.

A statement from UEFA said: “The UEFA appeals body has granted a stay of execution to the appeal lodged earlier today by Arsenal FC and their manager Arsene Wenger.

“The appeals body will take a decision in due time, but not before Arsenal’s UEFA Champions League game against Udinese Calcio in Italy on Wednesday (today).”

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.