Strange scenes unfolded before Arsenal’s Champions League qualifier against Ajax.
The targets were too small and had to be replaced.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this in my entire life,” said Arsenal’s Swedish coach Jonas Edevaal.
The evening was a happy ending for Edval and Arsenal as they won the match 1-0 and thus secured a place in the Champions League group stage.
But it was a chaotic evening in many ways.
It all started before kick-off when Edevaal and his teammates suspected mold and pointed out that the goal cages looked too small – which also turned out to be true.
ten centimeters separated
According to international rules, goal cages should be 2.44 meters high and 7.32 meters wide. But in the domestic league, Ajax uses goal cages less than ten centimeters high – and they were not replaced in Wednesday’s CL qualifiers.
– It felt weird to come here and face a big club like Ajax and you have to measure the goal posts…, says Edevaal.
stop quickly
The chaos continued into the final minutes of the match when England star Beth Mead was forced to leave with a head-kick.
Under the new rules, you will be given a ‘free’ substitution if you are suspected of having a concussion, and Sweden’s Lena Hurtig was ready for the substitution, but the fourth official called for a stop and Arsenal had to finish the match with 10 men.
– Lina stood waiting to jump in for several minutes. First the fourth judge said it was fine, and then she said “no.” I don’t understand, says Edvall according to the BBC.