Fans have reacted with anger and frustration after the sold-out Women’s Super League match between Chelsea and Manchester United next Sunday was postponed with just a week’s notice following the release of the Women’s Champions League group stage fixtures.
Fans of both clubs labelled the decision a “farce” and an “embarrassment”, while the Chelsea Women’s Supporters Group said on X: “Absolute failure by the league. The club had to protect the players. We feel for all the supporters who have lost money on transport and hotels. As we said yesterday, it shouldn’t ever have got to this situation.”
On Saturday Uefa listed Chelsea’s European game against Real Madrid for Tuesday 8 October, just two days after their scheduled league fixture at Kingsmeadow, which had been selected for live broadcast by Sky Sports more than a month earlier. Concerned about players being asked to play twice in 48 hours, Chelsea and the Women’s Professional Leagues Ltd, the new entity that runs the WSL, asked Uefa to move the Champions League game. The Guardian revealed that talks were ongoing on Saturday but no resolution could be reached.
It is understood there has been a lot of frustration in England at a perceived lack of willingness from Uefa to negotiate on the matter. However, Uefa’s stance has been clear, that its calendar was published more than a year ago and feels its regulations make it clear that the three English sides involved in the WCL cannot all play in Europe on the same night.
Uefa said in a statement: “These principles have been clearly communicated in advance and have been common practice since the introduction of the Women’s Champions League group stage in the 2021-22 season.”
Arsenal recorded their first victory of the Women’s Super League season as the Norway midfielder Frida Maanum scored in her third consecutive game in all competitions to secure for the north London club a 1-0 away win at an improving Leicester.
The England striker Alessia Russo pounced on a loose pass and unselfishly set up Maanum for the match-winning goal in the second half of a game that Jonas Eidevall’s side will have felt they should have won by a greater margin.
The defeat left Leicester with one point from their opening two league games under their new manager, the French coach Amandine Miquel, but she will have taken some encouragement from how much closer the scoreline was compared with the 6-2 defeat at home to Arsenal in the WSL last November.
Manchester City, who played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with Arsenal on this campaign’s opening weekend, also collected their first league victory of the season as the Jamaica striker Khadija Shaw, the Golden Boot winner last season, scored her first league goal of the season to give Gareth Taylor’s side a 1-0 win at home against Brighton.
Liverpool, who finished fourth last season, were held to a 1-1 draw at West Ham after Riko Ueki’s late header secured for the east London club their first point of the season. Ueki’s goal cancelled out the opener, scored early by Liverpool’s club-record signing, the Canada forward Olivia Smith. Ultimately, it was a case of deja vu for Liverpool, who were also pegged back by a late equaliser from the Japan striker in a 1-1 draw in the corresponding fixture last season, in another game where Matt Beard’s side were left frustrated.
The late kick-off in the WSL yesterday ended in dramatic fashion, as the Tottenham striker Bethany England scored a 96th-minute equaliser in their 2-2 draw at Aston Villa, denying Robert de Pauw a first win in charge of Villa.
In the Championship, the early‑season leaders Charlton extended their 100% winning start to four victories out of four, as they claimed a 2-0 away victory at Blackburn.
Tom Garry
Confirming the postponement, a statement from the WPLL apologised to supporters, sayings: “Due to the scheduling of Chelsea’s first UWCL group stage game, the BWSL game between Chelsea and Manchester United due to take place on Sunday 6 October has been postponed. We apologise for any inconvenience to fans. In this instance, we have to put player welfare first and we will announce a new date for the fixture in due course. We thank the clubs and Sky Sports for their understanding as we work on a resolution.”
Chelsea said they were “extremely disappointed” with the outcome: “In light of the proximity between the two fixtures, the club raised its concerns regarding player welfare with the relevant parties. Numerous discussions have since taken place in an attempt to find an amicable solution to this scheduling conflict between the league and Uefa.
“Despite our best efforts to seek alternative options which would allow us to play both matches safely, these have been unsuccessful. We are extremely disappointed with the outcome but wish to reiterate that player welfare and the impact on our supporters are of the utmost importance to us.”
Learning of the postponement of his side’s next league game just 10 minutes after the win against Everton on Sunday, the Manchester United head coach, Marc Skinner, said: “It’s not ideal; however, what I would say, in the best interests of the players for both Chelsea and Manchester United, it’s probably the right decision if it benefits the safety of the players.
“I’ve not been partial to the conversations because I’ve been focused on this game, but it was important to look after Chelsea players and Manchester United players. I’m OK with it. The frustration is that we don’t have a game at the weekend, but we can work around that.”
