Arsenal have been faced with a scheduling collision involving a UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage match and the men’s Carabao Cup quarter-final in late December.
Arsenal Women are set to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League at Emirates Stadium on December 18, 24 hours after the men’s team are pencilled in to host Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup.
The club now face a scheduling dilemma due to the complications in the calendar of the cup competitions in combination with the Premier League.
Crystal Palace are set to play Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday, December 16, meaning the cup tie cannot be played the next Tuesday night. Arsenal and Crystal Palace are then set to meet again on Saturday, December 21, meaning the cup match cannot be played on Thursday 19 or Friday 20 due to insufficient time between games.
If Palace and Brighton were to have their Monday night game moved to the Sunday, this would still not provide enough time between matches if the cup game were to be held on the Tuesday.
The only available day for the cup tie would be the Wednesday night, when the women’s team are hosting Bayern Munich in the final group stage match of the UEFA Women’s Champions League. The UWCL match is unable to be moved to Borehamwood’s Meadow Park because the stadium does not meet UEFA’s Infrastructure Regulations.
Scheduling in the women’s game continues to be a prevalent issue
The Arsenal scheduling dilemma is not the first of the season, after Chelsea and Manchester United had their Women’s Super League meeting postponed due to Women’s Champions League conflicts.
UEFA put forth their tournament calendar many months ago, and the blame fell at the feet of the Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL) who were unable to plan the WSL fixture accordingly.
This time, the onus falls on the EFL to amend the scheduling conflict, as Arsenal announced that all UEFA Women’s Champions League group-stage fixtures would be played at Emirates Stadium back in May.
