“It’s not out of the ordinary that that can happen,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said of his team’s late arrival in Milan ahead of their Champions League opener. This was a weather-related issue, but we’ve been in comparable situations before.”
Newcastle unwittingly violated UEFA Champions League preparation requirements after their trip to Milan was delayed for more than two hours owing to a storm in Italy.
Eddie Howe and his team left Newcastle two hours and twenty minutes late for their flight to northern Italy.
According to UEFA rules, teams must hold their pre-match press conferences between 12pm and 8pm local time the day before a match.
A storm blasted through Milan shortly after Newcastle took off at 5 p.m., however it is unclear whether this was the reason of the delay.
When Eddie Howe arrived at the San Siro, he blamed the delay on the weather and admitted they remained on the runway for about two hours before taking off.
Newcastle’s press conference began around 9 p.m., two hours later than expected.
Howe argued that the inclement weather that delayed Newcastle’s arrival in Italy would not ruin their Champions League campaign.
The club’s current European expedition didn’t get off to the best of beginnings when, after being granted special permission to practice on Tyneside on Monday morning rather than at the San Siro later in the day, they stayed on the ground for more than two hours.
However, when they finally arrived, Howe was sure that preparations for a tough opening match against Milan would not be affected as a result.
“It’s just part of the job that we do,” he explained. It’s not out of the ordinary for things to happen. This was a weather-related issue, but we’ve been in comparable situations before.
“It’s something we’re used to, though the players arrived a little later than we would have liked. But it’s not a big thing.”
Eddie Howe will be irritated that Newcastle’s flight has been delayed by over two and a half hours. We were sitting at the press conference waiting for them, and no one informed us that they had been delayed – and before they even arrived in Milan, they had broken UEFA rules.
Around 5 p.m., there was some extremely poor weather in Milan, a pretty strong storm, and if that’s the reason for the flight delay, it should be accepted.
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People may wonder why they did not fly sooner. Eddie Howe preferred to practice in Newcastle rather than in the San Siro, which is rare for European teams. They can, they are permitted to, but they would not be able to do so in the knockout stages.
My guess is that he did so because he doesn’t want anyone potentially witnessing their session the night before the game.
However, with their flight delayed by two and a half hours and a press conference scheduled for 9 p.m., they will most likely not arrive at their hotel until 11 p.m.
Sandro Tonali, who needs to rest up for the game with an early kickoff, will sleep late tonight. At the present, it does not appear promising.
It’ll be something Howe is upset about. We’ll see who’s to blame, but it’s not a good start for their first game back in the Champions League. You’d think that because Newcastle plays so many games away from home in England, they’d know they want to get situated in their hotel well before this.
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