Next Sunday’s Women’s Super League clash between Chelsea and Manchester United has been postponed on grounds of player welfare, despite the fixture having already sold out.
The Women’s Professional Leagues Ltd (WPLL), the company now in charge of the top two tiers of game, has taken the decision due to the scheduling of Chelsea’s Champions League matches.
The group stage draw was only made on Friday, with the fixtures released on Saturday, and UEFA announced Chelsea would play Real Madrid on Tuesday, October 8 - just two days after their game with United, which was due to be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
Both Chelsea and the WPLL asked UEFA to move the Blues’ fixture back but the governing body, who released its match calendar over a year ago, stood by its decision.
A spokesperson for the WPLL said: ‘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 6th October has been postponed.
A rescheduled date for the fixture, which was sold out, is due to be announced in due course
‘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.’
Several United fans are understood to have already booked and paid for travel and many supporters have been left frustrated by the short notice over the rescheduling of the WSL fixture.
England is the only nation with three teams competing in the group stage of the competition, with Arsenal and Manchester City having also qualified.
UEFA’s rules state that the two highest seeds - in this instance Chelsea and Arsenal - are forbidden to play fixtures on the same night.
Arsenal and City will play their first group game a day after Chelsea, on October 9.