West Ham hold tongue as Rangers blast UEFA on behalf of fans after Europa League appeal
West Ham and Rangers fans are furious after being handed ridiculous kick-off times in the last 16 of the Europa League.
West Ham were drawn to face group stage opponents Freiburg in the last 16 of the Europa League.
Meanwhile Scottish giants Rangers will play Benfica.
As group winners, West Ham and Rangers get home advantage in the potentially crucial second leg.
But that supposed “home advantage” has been somewhat diminished after the Hammers and Gers were handed the reviled 5.45pm kick-off slots.
As I explained on Hammers News yesterday, UEFA introduced the new staggered kick-off slots back in 2018 to increase broadcast interest.
UEFA brought it in to prevent more games over-lapping and allow viewers to see more games each European match day without having to compromise.
So much for home advantage
But the thousands of West Ham and Rangers fans attending the second legs will certainly have to compromise.
They are expected to take time off work in the middle of the working week to get to the London Stadium and Ibrox in time for the early kick-off.
The 5.45pm kick-off also arguably seriously diminishes the fan element of home advantage. Because clubs are left with a stadium full of sober, miffed supporters who have had to take time off work to try and get to a game during rush hour.
There is a football food chain and pecking order for the TV companies. And West Ham and Rangers clearly sit below Liverpool in that respect as the Reds have been handed the plum 8pm kick-off.
Rangers sympathise with fans but silence from Hammers
Fans of both clubs are angry about the situation and have been demanding their clubs push for the kick-offs to be changed.
Especially as West Ham had originally suggested the kick-off would be 8pm when selling tickets for the fixture – as you can see in the post from board confidant Sean Whetstone below.
West Ham supporters claiming that the club’s ticket confirmation suggested a 8pm kick off for the last 16 home game at the time of sale before the draw.@WHU_ISC @HammersUnited2 @whust_whufc @WestHamHelp @PrideOfIrons @WHUSupportClub pic.twitter.com/7pH5QngQzZ
— West Ham Football (@westhamfootball) February 24, 2024
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But West Ham have held their tongue as Rangers blast UEFA on behalf of fans after a Europa League appeal.
The Scots issued a strongly-worded statement to fans aimed at UEFA after the allocation of the kick-off slots.
And the club confirmed it made a ‘robust’ case to European football’s governing body to have their fixture played in the ‘traditional’ 8pm slot but it fell on deaf ears.
“Rangers, on behalf of our supporters, are disappointed to have learned our Round of 16 Europa League home match with Benfica, on Thursday March 14, will kick-off at 17:45,” the statement reads.
‘The additional sacrifices they need to make’
“Despite a robust case being made to UEFA for the fixture to be played in the traditional 20:00 slot, it is instead to begin significantly earlier, primarily due to broadcaster commitments, and thus likely cause significant inconvenience and disruption to our supporters.
“The club fully sympathises with our loyal supporters for the additional sacrifices they may need to make to attend the match, with this issue falling totally outside of our control.”
Meanwhile West Ham’s hierarchy, who are also reportedly privately unhappy about the situation, have not issued any communication or shared their sympathy with supporters on the subject bar confirming the fixture dates and kick-off times.
“Due to the number of teams from Germany and Britain involved at this stage of the competition and the need for the ties to be split across the broadcast slots, both ours and Rangers’ home tie against Benfica have been selected for the earlier 5.45pm GMT kick-off on 14 March,”West Ham said in their confirmation of the draw.
