Manchester United will not have to pay compensation for Europa League rearrangement
According to The Mirror, Manchester United have been spared from having to pay compensation to their Europa League opponents Real Sociedad.
The Red Devils face the tricky Spaniards in the last-32 of the Europa League later this month. The first leg fixture was to be held at the Reale Arena, in San Sebastian, Spain on 18th February.
However, the Spanish government has placed restrictions on travellers entering the country from England due to the new COVID-19 variant. This has forced UEFA to change the venue for the first leg. The new venue is Juventus’ Allianz Stadium in Turin.
According to UEFA’s rule Rule K1.3(ii), in the case of a change in venue caused by a restriction implemented by the government of the visiting team’s country, 10% of the match fee must be paid to the home club.
Of the English clubs left in Europe, only Arsenal will need to fork out compensation for their opponents. This will set the Gunners back by £44,000. (h/t The Daily Mail)
United will play the second leg at Old Trafford on 25th February. Having fallen short at the semifinal stage last season, United will be looking to go one better this time around.
The game in Turin will take place behind closed doors. Sociedad are a tricky team and can cause some problems to their opponents. We will do well not to be complacent.
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United are no strangers to playing European fixtures in neutral venues. The club played the quarter-final and semi-final of the 2019/20 Europa League campaign in Germany.
The one-off ties were also a consequence of COVID-19 regulations.