Newcastle United inadvertently broke UEFA rules on Champions League preparations after their flight to Milan was delayed by more than two hours due to a storm in Italy.
Eddie Howe and his squad took off two hours and 20 minutes late from Newcastle for their flight to north Italy. UEFA rules stipulate that teams must hold their pre-match press conferences between 12 pm and 8 pm local time the day before a match takes place.
A storm swept through Milan at 5 pm, just after Newcastle took off, but it is uncertain whether that was the cause for the delay. Howe, when he finally arrived at the San Siro, said the weather was the reason for their delay, and admitted they sat on the runway for nearly two hours before taking off.
Newcastle’s press conference began at 9 p.m., two hours after its scheduled start time. Howe insisted the weather which delayed Newcastle’s arrival in Italy would not derail their Champions League adventure.
The club’s latest European mission hardly got off to the most auspicious of starts when having been given special dispensation to train on Tyneside on Monday morning rather than at the San Siro later in the day, they remained on the ground for more than two hours.
However, speaking at his press conference when they did eventually arrive, Howe was adamant preparations for a tough opening encounter with Milan would not be hampered as a result. He said: “It’s just part and parcel of the job that we do. It’s not out of the normal that that can happen. This was a weather problem, but we’ve been in similar situations.
“It’s something we’re used to, although it’s a slightly later arrival time than we would have liked for the players. It’s no big deal, though.”