Aston Villa have voiced their dissatisfaction after their Premier League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur was moved forward by two days to Friday, May 16th. The change was made by the Premier League to provide Tottenham with additional time to prepare for their potential appearance in the Europa League final on May 21st.
Damian Vidagany, Aston Villa’s director of football operations, expressed his frustration on social media, stating there was “clear prejudice” against the club in this decision. He added that he hoped this would be taken into account should Villa require fixture scheduling assistance in the future.
The match was originally scheduled for Sunday, May 18th, with a 14:15 BST kick-off. However, Tottenham requested the change to allow Ange Postecoglou’s team more preparation time if they progress to the Europa League final, where they could face Manchester United. Spurs currently hold a 3-1 aggregate lead over Bodo/Glimt in their semi-final, while Manchester United lead Athletic Bilbao 3-0, with the second legs to be played on Thursday.
Vidagany stated that while the club pushed hard to keep the game on Sunday to protect their fans, moving it to Friday at 19:30 BST was the “least damaging” option available, with Wednesday or Thursday having been considered. He also noted that attempts to move the game to Saturday were unsuccessful due to a clash with the FA Cup final.
Echoing Vidagany’s sentiments, Aston Villa’s director of football Monchi said the switch was “not what they wanted” and that the fans “didn’t deserve” the disruption. He emphasized the club’s efforts to protect their supporters.
The Premier League’s decision to accommodate Tottenham’s request will stand even if the North London club are eliminated by Bodo/Glimt and do not reach the Europa League final.
Aston Villa had objected to the fixture alteration, arguing that there was no precedent for the Premier League to reschedule games to benefit clubs involved in European competitions. They also pointed out that Villa themselves had navigated a congested fixture schedule in April due to their participation in the Champions League and FA Cup.
