The English Football League has expressed frustration with UEFA after a Champions League scheduling clash forced changes to three domestic fixtures involving Everton, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
Everton’s Carabao Cup third-round match against Wolves had initially been scheduled for September 9, but Liverpool were subsequently confirmed to host Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on the same night.
Everton and Liverpool cannot stage home matches on the same evening because of policing and logistical arrangements in the Liverpool area, leaving the EFL with a fixture problem that affected several clubs.
The Everton-Wolves tie has now been moved to September 16. Liverpool’s Carabao Cup meeting with Tottenham, which had been due to take place that evening, has been brought forward, while Wolves’ Championship match against Portsmouth has been pushed back to October.
EFL frustrated by lack of flexibility
The EFL said the original date for Everton’s match against Wolves had been agreed with the relevant local stakeholders before the fixture was announced.
UEFA then confirmed Liverpool’s Champions League league-phase meeting with Atletico Madrid for September 9, creating a clash between the two Merseyside clubs’ home schedules.
EFL and UEFA officials held discussions in an attempt to find a solution, but the Champions League fixture remained in place. The EFL said UEFA’s decision was influenced by the potential disruption a change could cause to supporters travelling internationally.
That left the domestic competition organiser to restructure its own programme around the Champions League calendar.
The episode has added to the EFL’s concerns about the growing pressure placed on domestic schedules by the expansion of European club competitions. The league said it had already made changes in recent seasons to accommodate UEFA competitions, including adjustments to the Carabao Cup calendar and draw arrangements designed to avoid clashes involving clubs playing in Europe.
Five clubs affected by the rearrangements
The changes have created a chain reaction across the schedule.
Wolves will now travel to Everton for their Carabao Cup tie on September 16 after the original September 9 date became unavailable. Liverpool’s meeting with Tottenham in the same competition has also been moved to avoid another conflict involving the two Merseyside clubs.
Wolves’ Championship fixture against Portsmouth has consequently been rearranged for October 20, meaning supporters of five clubs have been affected by the scheduling changes.
Wolves confirmed that their match at Everton and the Portsmouth fixture had both been moved again following the release of the Champions League schedule.
The situation also underlines the increasingly complicated relationship between domestic competitions and UEFA’s expanded European programme, with fixture planning requiring greater coordination between leagues, clubs, police and competition organisers.
Liverpool’s Champions League campaign begins with the home match against Atletico Madrid on September 9, according to the official UEFA Champions League fixture schedule.
For the EFL, however, the immediate concern is the disruption caused to supporters and clubs after domestic fixtures that had already been arranged had to be changed.
The league has apologised to those affected, while maintaining that closer cooperation between European and domestic football authorities is needed to prevent similar problems as the calendar becomes increasingly congested.
