Postponed Champions League Tie To Be Played Thursday
TURIN, Italy, Nov 28 (AFP)
The European Champions League second phase Group D match between Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen - twice postponed because of fog - will now be played on Thursday (1400 GMT).
The decision was imposed on both clubs by European football's governing body UEFA with Bayer Leverkusen left with the job of trying to find a hotel for the night - eventually they found one at Saint Vincent in the Valle d'Aosta some 80km away.
Swiss referee Urs Meier called the match off at kick-off time Wednesday evening after the thick fog that made the game unplayable a week ago intervened again.
Speaking just before the new date was announced Juve president Vittorio Chiusano made it clear he didn't agree with the idea to play Thursday.
Juve are due to play Perugia in a Serie A match on Saturday while Leverkusen also have a domestic assignment in the shape of Werder Bremen - both clubs also have Champions League fixtures to fulfil on Tuesday.
"UEFA, with what is perhaps excessive inflexibility, are insisting that the game is played tomorrow," said Chiusano.
"If we have to play we will though."
That view was echoed by Leverkusen's general manager Wolfgang Holzhauser who said: "This decision penalises us. We would have preferred another date but we don't have a choice."
Meanwhile, Chiusano made it clear that he felt Champions League fixtures in general should be rethought to accommodate potential fog which is common in northern Italy and other Alpine regions at this time of year.
"There are too many evening games at this latitude where fog is a fact of life," he said.
"These times need to be rethought."
