Arsenal Women forced to move tie over stadium clash
Arsenal want to make Emirates Stadium the main home of the club's women's team
- Published
Arsenal Women have been forced to move their high-profile Champions League game against Bayern Munich next month away from Emirates Stadium because of a scheduling clash with the men's team.
The game has been set for Wednesday, 18 December, with the club selling tickets since September.
However, it now clashes with the EFL Cup quarter-final between the men's side and Crystal Palace.
The only midweek day available to Palace, if they are to get two rest days between fixtures, is the Wednesday as they have televised Premier League matches on the previous Sunday and the following Saturday.
There is an added problem around EFL Cup scheduling as Tottenham have been drawn at home to Manchester United, who also play in the league on the previous Sunday. London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal are not allowed to play major games at home on the same evening for policing reasons.
The Spurs game against United will be televised on Thursday, 19 December.
Arsenal are now exploring alternatives with European governing body Uefa for the Bayern tie. This includes moving the fixture to Meadow Park in Borehamwood, where they previously played the majority of their Women's Super League matches.
However, Meadow Park's facilities do not currently meet Uefa regulations so there would need to be some flexibility.
It is unclear where the ground fails to meet the regulations but Uefa's rules state requirements on a range of things, including pitch heating and covers, grass height, floodlights, goalpost structures, pitch surrounding areas, artificial pitches and frequency of pitch watering.
There is no video assistant referee (VAR) or goalline technology requirements in the group stages of the Women's Champions League.
Uefa told BBC Sport: "We are currently liasing with the home club to confirm the venue of the match."
It is an uncomfortable situation for Arsenal, given they have made a point of making Emirates Stadium the main home for their women's team.