Arsenal Women forced to move Champions League game over clash with men’s team

Renee Slegers’ side were due to face Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium but the game will now be placed elsewhere

(AFP via Getty Images)

Arsenal Women have moved their headline Champions League clash with Bayern Munich away from the Emirates Stadium due to a fixture clash with the men’s team.

The Women’s Super League side have been forced into a change of venue because of the men’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace which can only be played on the same date as the scheduled meeting with Bayern.

Both games will take place on Wednesday 18th December.

The club have already started selling tickets for Arsenal Women vs Bayern Munich but must now look into alternative options for the fixture.

One such plan is to play the game at Meadow Park in Borehamwood, where the team play the majority of their WSL games, but there is a problem here. Meadow Park’s facilities do not currently meet Uefa regulations so there would need to be some flexibility byt the governing body to allow the fixture to take place with the minimum of fuss.

It is unclear where the ground fails to meet the Uefa’s regulations but requirements include grass height, floodlights, goalpost structures, pitch heating and covers, pitch surrounding areas, artificial pitches and frequency of pitch watering.

Arsenal and Uefa are exploring other options for the Bayern tie as well.

In an ever-crowded schedule December 18 was the only midweek day available to Crystal Palace. They are required to get two rest days between fixtures and have scheduled televised Premier League matches on the previous Sunday and the following Saturday.

Arsenal would rather have avoided such an issue especially as they want to make the Emirates the main home ground for their women’s team but this problem is another example of an overly stuffed schedule bringing unforeseen consequences.