Tottenham Hotspur Boss Says Europa Conference League Elimination Is Unfair

Antonio Conte has let fly on a rant against UEFA after Tottenham Hotspur were knocked out of the Europa Conference League after not being able to play Rennes in the final game of the group stages.

Tottenham were unable to face their Ligue 1 opponents on December 9th due to the Covid-19 outbreak that also led to their game with Brighton being delayed.

The two club were supposed to find a new date to play the match but were unable to meet the deadline of the end of the calendar year, meaning UEFA's disciplinary body had to decide on the outcome.

On Monday, UEFA confirmed that Spurs were being handed a 3-0 loss as they had to 'forfeit' the match, meaning they were out of the competition.

Now Conte has launched a tirade at the European governing body, calling the decision unfair and suggesting the club could protest the decision.

"For sure this is an incredible decision," the Italian said in his press conference ahead of Wednesday's Carabao Cup quarter final with West Ham United.

"This decision is not fair. Because all the world know that we are facing a big problem like Covid.

Spurs drew with Rennes earlier in the group. Image: PA Images

"We didn't play because we had many players with Covid and the government decided to stop our training session, to stop our training centre and honestly, for me, for the players, for the club, for our fans, it's incredible the decision that UEFA wanted to take.

“It's unfair, for sure.

"We deserved to play the qualification on the pitch. Not in this way.

Spurs loss to Mura dented their chances of going through. Image: PA Images

"I'm very disappointed for the UEFA decision and I don't understand. I hope that in the future, in the next step, something can change.

"We deserved to play. It's not our fault.

"UEFA have taken this decision but there is another step to confirm or not this incredible decision.”

Conte isn't happy with UEFA. Image: PA Images

With Vitesse winning their final game of the group, Spurs knew they needed any sort of victory in order to qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament.

Their embarrassing loss to Mura on Matchday Five had put Conte's team on the verge of being knocked out in the first place. If they're appeal is successful they would face Rapid Wien in the play-off round.

Spurs' fixture list could become extremely congested if they are allowed to play Rennes, as their games with Burnley and Leicester City have also been delayed recently, as well as the Brighton game.

Topics: Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League, Rennes, Europa Conference League, UEFA, Antonio Conte

Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

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