Tottenham Hotspur's Game With Rennes Won't Be Rescheduled

Tottenham Hotspur could be knocked out of the Europa Conference League without playing their final group game against Rennes, as it won't take place.

Spurs were one of the biggest teams in the Europa Conference for the inaugural season of the competition, and would have been one of the favourites.

However they picked up losses against Vitesse and Slovenian side Mura and needed a win against table topping Rennes in the final game of the group to go through.

That match on Thursday was postponed due to an outbreak of Covid in the Tottenham camp and had to be played by the end of 2021.

UEFA have now confirmed that the match hasn't been able to be rescheduled and won't take place, and instead the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body will have to make a decision on what happens.

"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," UEFA said in a statement.

"In accordance with Annex J of the UEFA Europa Conference League regulations, UEFA, in cooperation with the two clubs tried to find a viable solution in order to reschedule the match, so as to ensure the group stage could be completed accordingly.

Tottenham lost to Mura in Matchday Five. Image: PA Images

"Unfortunately, despite all efforts, a solution that could work for both clubs could not be found.

"As a consequence, the match can no longer be played and the matter will, therefore, be referred to the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body for a decision to be taken in accordance with Annex J of the above-mentioned competition regulations."

Annex J does say that 'the club that cannot play the match will be held responsible for the match not taking place,' and that usually leads to a 3-0 forfeit.

However that might not be the case and UEFA's disciplinary body could yet make a different decision depending on the circumstances.

Spurs' game with Burnley was also postponed. Image: PA Images

Spurs fixture list could become pretty hectic as their recent Premier League game with Burnley was postponed after snow covered the pitch at Burnley just an hour before kick off.

Their game this weekend with Brighton has also been postponed due to their Covid 19 outbreak, in which nine players tested positive, as well as some under 23s and members of staff.

After this weekend, Spurs have five more fixtures before the end of the year, including a Carabao Cup quarter final, and Rennes start their winter break on December 22nd.

Topics: Tottenham Hotspur, Europa Conference League, Rennes

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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