The club confirmed in a statement on Wednesday night
Tottenham Hotspur’s final UEFA Conference League group game against Rennes has been postponed due to the current covid-19 outbreak at the club.
Manager Antonio Conte confirmed in his press conference earlier on Wednesday that eight first-team players had tested positive for coronavirus along with five staff members and described it as a ‘serious problem.’
The outbreak has left Tottenham’s squad threadbare, with reports from football.london suggesting that they have only 10 outfield players to select from.
Understand Spurs currently only have 10 senior outfield players available for tomorrow night. Here's every word a furious Antonio Conte just said to us about the Covid outbreak at Tottenham and you can understand why. https://t.co/l48aj3Gtkf
— Alasdair Gold (@AlasdairGold) December 8, 2021
UEFA rules state that ‘if less than 13 players registered on the A-list or no registered goalkeeper are available’ then a club has the right to postpone a game – something which Tottenham have now activated.
Despite the outbreak, they confirmed in a statement that the first-team area of the training centre will close for health and safety reasons.
They said: “We can confirm that our UEFA Europa Conference League Group G home fixture against Stade Rennais will not take place tomorrow (Thursday 9 December at 8pm UK) after a number of positive COVID-19 cases at the Club.
“Discussions are ongoing with UEFA and we shall provide a further update on this fixture in due course.
“Additionally, following discussions with the Health Security Agency (formerly Public Health England) and DCMS advisers, the Club has been advised to close the First Team area of its Training Centre at this time, in the interests of the health and safety of players and staff.
“All other areas of the Training Centre remain operational.”
Tottenham have also spoken to the Premier League to request to postpone their weekend fixture against Brighton and Hove Albion, however it is unknown if that request has been granted.
Related links:
- Tottenham to ask Premier League to postpone Brighton clash after more COVID-19 cases
- PM confirms vaccine passports required for outdoor sporting venues with capacity of over 10,000
- Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting ‘still battling symptoms’ after severe COVID-19 infection
