Why, when it is a case of rescheduling games, for one club the rules don’t apply

 

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By Tony Attwood

We are used to the negativity of the media concerning Arsenal, although even the English media by and large thought there was something fairly wonky about the refereeing decsiions last nigtht.   But there is a sense that if you are Arsenal and if you are going to play in Europe, you know what you are going to get.  “Gyökeres and Alvarez on spot as VAR controversy denies Arsenal at Atlético” says The Guardian, and since there is always a VAR controversy in a match, it hardly makes one wish to read on.  But at least the media admit it this time.

But “Arsenal curse VAR as Atletico Madrid resort to dark arts” from the Telegraph makes it sound as if all was fair and square.   And you may not get any further with that one since you need a subscription to read the article.

The Mail however, lets rip a bit more, as Martin Keown and Steve McManaman tear into ‘ATROCIOUS’ Diego Simeone after Atletico Madrid boss’ ‘awful’ reaction to Arsenal penalty decision.  That’s telling them!

But the Mirror really can’t face the idea of Arsenal being cheated, since their normal story is the other way around, so they go with the claim that “Paris Saint Germain’s ludicrous 5-4 win against Bayern Munich, was the best game of all time. 

Meanwhile, there is a little bit of notice given to the mucking around within the Premier League fixture committee as the Indenedent tells us  that “The Premier League has received pushback in discussions about the rescheduling of two Manchester City fixtures that could prove pivotal to a number of key positions in the table and the title race with Arsenal.”

The fact is that throughout the history of the league, clubs that are particularly successful in several competitions end up having to play several matches on dates close to each other.   And normally, the clubs just get on with it.   But not ManC, who invariably manage to get what they want, as indeed the media is starting to notice.  But no more it seems as the ManC “home match against Palace has been without a date for months.”

The paper does remind us that “It is up to the Premier League to decide” on the schedule, but then tells us how tough life is for ManC, the club that recently spent more on transfers of players than any other club in the history of football.   “City could be left with a fixture pile-up that includes four games in 12 days,” they say, but really, so what?  They have enough players.   In fact they have more than enough of everything and yet their PR department is still making a fuss! 

The basic rule is that the Premier League games which are postponed have to be played in the order of the original schedule, even if the original dates are completely missed.   But no, ManC don’t want that and have insisted, as ever, that the rules don’t apply to them because these rules were written for “ordinary” clubs, not clubs that can progress through a whole range of competitions because they have enough money to buy anyone they want.

And they seem to be rather upset by the fact that Crystal P have reached the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League.  Recently in such disputes, the League immediately gives in to the ManC demands for how and when the games are played, just as the timetable of punishing the 110 rule breaks of ManC has stretched and stretched as ManC have demanded.  But it seems pressure from the other 19 is building.

Meanwhile, this congestion of fixtures is being portrayed by the Premier League and FA as if it is something completely unexpected and has taken them all by surprise.   It is as if they are saying, “We never thought that a club like ManC, which could spend as much money as it wanted without facing any penalties, would actually do well in all the competitions they play in and so get a fixture clash.” 

And you know, maybe that is true – they didn’t think of this, because forward thinking doesn’t seem to be an attribute well established in the corridors of the Premier League.

In the past, the rule has been that club situations do not have precedence over the football timetable except where games in a cup and the league, or in two cups, are scheduled for the same day.   And if that means playing a couple of games a few days apart, that is what you get for being successful.

But as we have learned, the rules don’t apply to ManC.   So we can all remember the 2023/4  Premier League when ManC were allowed to reschedule their game at White Hart Lane to almost the end of the season, when it could have been played earlier, just to make life easier for the ManCs.  We may expect the same sort of thing again.