Arsenal's Jonas Eidevall slams 'simply unacceptable' Champions League scheduling conflict

Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall has slammed recent scheduling conflicts with clubs who’ve qualified for the Women's Champions League as “simply unacceptable”.

Chelsea raised concerns over player welfare last week after their Champions League group game against Real Madrid was scheduled for just two days after their Barclays Women's Super League clash with Manchester United on 8 October.

In a statement, the club announced they had been forced to postpone their league fixture after "numerous discussions" with the Women's Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL) had proved unsuccessful when trying to find an "amicable solution to this scheduling conflict".

However, things were made even worse when it was revealed that UEFA had in fact shared their match calendar with the WPLL a year ago and had requested that no English team, should they qualify, be scheduled to play on 8 October having predicted the potential challenge.

WSL clubs Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City have all qualified for group stage of the tournament for the first time in history. Chelsea, whose Champions League game is on Tuesday, have seen their WSL fixture cancelled, but Arsenal and Man City, who both play again on Wednesday, still have WSL fixtures to play this coming Sunday.

Speaking ahead of the Gunners’ WSL game against Everton, Eidevall was furious about the actions of the WPLL and accused them of "sticking their heads in the sand".

"Unless we have a league organisation that doesn't act proactively on these matters, it's damaging for the fans," he said. "The fans are the backbone of what we are trying to build. I think that it is simply unacceptable to have people's money and time treated in that way. It's simply not good enough from the league.

"Do they want the English clubs to be successful at a European level? I would hope the answer to that is yes, but their actions show differently. It shows that having these clubs be successful is not one of their priorities. 

"I think that it's a very big negative for English women's club football, too. It's very important that this is the first time three clubs have reached the group stage and that should be something that we celebrate, instead it has become a problem."

Eidevall expressed that his team had been put at a "sporting disadvantage" after being scheduled to play three games in the space of a week, one of which is against Chelsea on Saturday 12 October.

"It’s even worse for us," he explained. "Because of this amateurish behaviour and no proactive plan, we have considerably less preparation time than our opponents and therefore will have a sporting disadvantage in two huge games.

"Now you know me and even better, you know my players and team. We are not the team that's going to lie down and give up just because situations are tough. We are going to dig deeper than we have ever done before, and try to fuel our performances."

He went on to stress that a solution to scheduling conflicts need to be found, sooner rather than later.

"You could have alternative playing dates," said Eidevall. "I'm asking for an approach that when a situation arises, instead of sticking your head in the sand and thinking the problem is going to disappear, be solutions orientated."

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