Vitesse has released a statement about the current situation in the Conference League. The match between Tottenham Hotspur and Stade Rennes will not be finished on Thursday evening, due to a corona outbreak within the selection of the Spurs. Vitesse must ‘just’ take action against NS Mura and that is an ‘undesirable situation’ according to the Arnhem team.
Tottenham and Vitesse compete for a place in the knockout phase of the Conference League. The Conte team would compete in-house against the already seeded Stade Rennes, while Vitesse, which, like the Spurs, is on seven points from five matches, plays at home against NS Mura. The goal difference is in favor of Tottenham (+3 versus +1). The results are therefore intertwined, but it seems that Vitesse will play as usual on Thursday evening. According to the latest reports, Tottenham wants to finish the game with Stade Rennes on Wednesday 15 December. Finding a new date is due to the overcrowded schedule of the Spurs a big challenge in the next three weeks.
Vitesse calls the fact that Tottenham will play its last game later on as an ‘undesirable situation’. “Because of the reports that appeared from London on Wednesday, Vitesse was waiting for the way in which the situation would develop further and the way in which UEFA would deal with it. Because the European Football Association has drawn a line through Tottenham Hotspur – Stade Rennes on Thursday morning as a result of the situation in England, many questions have arisen about Vitesse’s meeting with NS Mura. Not only are the interests of this game enormous, but they are also heavily intertwined with the other final game in the group.”
Vitesse emphasizes that the UEFA regulations prescribe that the last group matches are all played at the same time. “Although there is a provision about unforeseen circumstances, these are very important interests for clubs in which a fair course of competition must be guaranteed at all times. Vitesse and Tottenham Hotspur compete for a place in the knockout phase of the Conference League and that has to be a fair, simultaneous battle.”
For the time being, UEFA has not yet informed Vitesse. In a comment to The Telegraph the football association announced earlier in the day that it is assumed that Vitesse and Mura will play against each other on Thursday evening. Vitesse considers this a ‘significant sporting disadvantage’, but emphasizes that it could be even more disadvantageous if the decision is not to play the match. “In that case, playing is a wiser option than refusal, which can have consequences. But above all, this choice should not lie with Vitesse, but with UEFA.”
“In this context, Vitesse has also asked the European Football Association a number of questions and indicated that it is prepared to investigate concrete solutions. All with the aim of creating an equal and fair playing field for all teams in the group,” Vitesse continues. “Should that not happen, Vitesse will do everything in its power to make the statement on the field, instead of off it. The dream of European wintering is still alive and Vitesse will give more than one hundred percent to make it come true!”