Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall says it is "simply not good enough" the way the Women's Super League has handled the rescheduling of matches.
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Chelsea's WSL match with Man Utd postponedConflicted with Champions League tie with Real MadridArsenal boss Eidevall says it's "not good enough"Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Chelsea's match with Manchester United in the Women's Super League on Sunday was postponed as it was too close to the Blues' Champions League tie with Real Madrid on October 8. The Women's Professional Leagues Limited, which now runs the WSL, said the cancellation was to prioritise player welfare. But the match was scheduled weeks before the Champions League draw, as Gunners boss Eidevall described the whole affair as "amateurish behaviour".
AdvertisementGetty ImagesWHAT JONAS EIDEVALL SAID
He said, via : "Out of the 16 teams, 13 were scheduled to play on the Friday or Saturday and the three English teams were all scheduled to play on the Sunday. We have a league organisation that doesn’t act proactively on these matters. It is damaging for the fans. It is simply not good enough from the league. Do the league want English teams to be successful at European level? I would hope the answer to that would be yes, but the actions show differently. It shows that this is not one of their priorities."
He added: ""It is very important that this is the first time in the group stage that three teams reached the group stage. That should be something we celebrate – instead it becomes a problem. Now it's even worse for us because of this amateurish behaviour, with not having a proactive plan. What needs to change is the approach to Champions League football. It is not good enough to blame it on UEFA because everyone across Europe has had the same information for a long time, and the only one that hasn't acted on that information is the WSL."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
While playing a league game and then a Champions League match in the space of two days is far from ideal, the right decision may have been made to postpone it. But this could have been handled a whole lot better, especially as Chelsea's game with United was a sell-out and was picked for Sky Sports coverage.
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT?
While Chelsea and United are not playing in the WSL this weekend, Eidevall's Arsenal host Everton in a battle between fourth and 11th in the table. A win could take the Gunners top of the table if results go their way.
