Europa Kick-Off Blow – News Archive – News – evertonfc.com – The Official Website of Everton Football Club
Everton fans have been dealt a blow with news they will have to play their first home game in the knock-out stage of the Europa League at 5.45pm on a Tuesday.
That is the prospect facing the Blues for the first leg of their last 32 tie on Tuesday, February 16 because of a fixture clash with Liverpool, who enter the Europa League after Christmas following their elimination from the Champions League.
Following negotiations with Uefa Everton have been informed they must play the first-leg tie on Tuesday in order for Liverpool to play their first leg tie in the same competition in the standard Thursday night slot on February 18.
Chief Executive Robert Elstone told evertonfc.com: "We battled Uefa extremely hard and made the obvious issues very clear indeed, trying every route to find an alternative. But the reality we were left with meant there was no other option."
Everton Club Secretary Dave Harrison explained: "In circumstances like this Uefa have a stadium and cities clash document which quite clearly indicates the procedures that need to take place and the order of priority for eligibility. Unfortunately, as a result of those priorities Liverpool have staked a claim for the Thursday night standard Europa League kick-off time.
"The same document makes it clear fixtures should be fulfilled on Tuesday with an 18:00 CET kick-off (5pm GMT) if they cannot be played on Thursday. We have managed to negotiate an extra 45 minutes beyond that time."
Uefa broadcasting regulations mean that the game cannot be played later in the day as it cannot clash with Champions League fixtures.
Liverpool take priority over Everton as they finished higher than the Blues in last season's Premier League table. Had Everton won the FA Cup final against Chelsea, the situation would have been reversed and Liverpool would have been left with no option but to play on the Tuesday.
Everton have explored other options, but domestic commitments mean there is no option but to play at such an unusual time.
The draw for the last 32 will take place today (Friday) at midday. Everton could be drawn against any one from: Anderlecht, Valencia, Hapoel Tel Aviv, AS Roma, Sporting Lisbon, Galatasaray, FC Salzburg, Fenerbache, Shakhtar Donetsk, PSV Eindhoven, Werder Bremen, Juventus, Wolfsburg, Marseille or Unirea Urziceni.
The last 32 first leg will be played on Tuesday, February 16, with the second leg played the following week on Thursday, February 25.
