Why was Arsenal’s Europa League fixture with PSV postponed? Here’s the official update
The UEFA Europa League fixture between Arsenal and PSV Eindhoven, scheduled to be held at the Emirate Stadium in London on Thursday, September 15 was postponed.
The UEFA Europa League fixture between Arsenal and PSV Eindhoven, scheduled to be held at the Emirate Stadium in London on Thursday, September 15 was postponed by UEFA on Monday. This comes a day after the European football governing body postponed the Champions League game between Rangers and Napoli from Tuesday to Wednesday. Meanwhile, Arsenal put out a statement on Monday, revealing the reason behind their game getting postponed.
The club revealed that the postponement follows, “liaison between UEFA, the Metropolitan Police, and ourselves, after the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II”. As reported by The Associated Press, in a statement explaining this decision, UEFA said the game was postponed due to the limited police resources available, alongside the organizational issues related to national mourning.
However, it is pertinent to mention that UEFA and Arsenal might face issues in rescheduling the match against PSV, due to the congestion caused by the FIFA World Cup 2022 being played in Qatar later this year. As per AP, the Premier League club has no clear midweek dates before the Europa League group matches conclude on November 3. The Round of 16 draw of the tournament is scheduled to be held on November 7.
What did Arsenal say about postponed Europa League match?
Meanwhile, providing an update about the rescheduling the match, Arsenal said, “We are working with the authorities to reschedule the match and any tickets (including those purchased via Ticket Exchange or received via Ticket Transfer) and/or hospitality packages purchased for this fixture will be valid for the rescheduled date. For any season ticket holders who have sold their ticket via Ticket Exchange or transferred their ticket via Ticket Transfer, your ticket will remain inactive for the rescheduled date.”
Big EPL games involving Manchester United, Liverpool & Chelsea also postponed
Meanwhile, alongside the Arsenal vs PSV, Europa League tie, and two of the upcoming weekend’s biggest Premier League games have also been called off due to police shortage amid Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. This includes the Manchester United vs Leeds game at Old Trafford and Liverpool’s away game at Chelsea. This comes a week after the Brighton v Crystal Palace match was postponed for unrelated reasons.
As reported by The Guardian, Premier League provided an update about the three postponed games and said they had no choice but to postpone the game. Meanwhile, the kick-off time of Arsenal’s upcoming EPL game against Brentford on Sunday has been also moved to a noon slot. However, the other seven Premier League fixtures of the coming weekends will be held as scheduled.
