Tottenham Hotspur’s postponed Europa Conference
League
game with Rennes will stand cancelled, with no further rescheduling,
says UEFA on Saturday. Tottenham announced on Wednesday that the group match,
scheduled for Thursday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, could not take place after
13 COVID-19 positive cases were detected at the club. Rennes had criticised
Tottenham for making a “unilateral decision”.

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“Following a COVID-19 outbreak in the team
of Tottenham Hotspur FC ahead of the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage
match against Stade Rennais FC, scheduled to take place on 9 December 2021 in
London, the match could not take place,” said the UEFA in a press statement.

“Despite all efforts, a solution that could
work for both clubs could not be found,” the statement added.

Also Read: Conte confirms Spur COVID outbreak as 13 players, staff test positive

Eight Tottenham players and five members of
the staff tested positive for COVID-19. According to the UEFA rules, if clubs
have 13 fit players on their A list, including a goalkeeper, they must not
cancel or postpone the match.

The game’s European governing body, UEFA, will now take a call on how the points will be distributed. The fixture was
Tottenham and Rennes’ final game in Group G.

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Rennes have already reached the
pre-quarterfinal as group toppers, while Tottenham are third, trailing three
points behind Vitesse, who beat NS Mura on Thursday. The group runners-up will
secure a spot in a play-off for the last 16.

Why was the match
cancelled?     
              

UEFA had the option to reschedule the
match, but with a 31 December deadline for the group stage to be finished,
finding an alternative date would have been difficult for the governing body.

Also Read: Lifting trophies is Tottenham Hotspur’s target says boss Antonio Conte

Tottenham’s Premier League game at
Brighton, scheduled for Sunday, has also been postponed due to the COVID scare
at the Spurs dressing room. Tottenham’s next game is against Leicester City on
16 December.

Antonio Conte’s side is scheduled to host
Liverpool on 19 December, play a home EFL Cup quarter-final against West Ham on
22 December, entertain Crystal Palace on 26 December and travel to Southampton
on 28 December.