Tottenham Hotspur face being unceremoniously dumped from the Europa Conference League after UEFA opted not to reschedule their postponed game against Stade Rennais FC on Thursday.
Spurs were forced to postpone the clash due to a player shortage caused by Covid which has affected as many as 20 members of staff, according to reports.
Antonio Conte's side had been hoping the fixture would be rescheduled to a later date, but it seems that will not be possible before the deadline passes on December 31.
UEFA released the following statement which read: "Following a Covid-19 outbreak in the team of Tottenham Hotspur FC ahead of the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage match against Stade Rennais FC, scheduled to take place on 9 December 2021 in London, the match could not take place.
"In accordance with Annex J of the UEFA Europa Conference League regulations, UEFA, in cooperation with the two clubs tried to find a viable solution in order to reschedule the match, so as to ensure the group stage could be completed accordingly.
"Unfortunately, despite all efforts, a solution that could work for both clubs could not be found. As a consequence, the match can no longer be played and the matter will, therefore, be referred to the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body for a decision to be taken in accordance with Annex J of the competition regulations."
It is likely Rennes will be given a 3-0 win as a result which will see Spurs dumped out of the competition without so much as kicking a football.
Per the regulations, Annex J states: "If it is not possible to reschedule the match within the final deadline set out in Annex J.4.1, the club that cannot play the match will be held responsible for the match not taking place and the match will be declared by the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body to be forfeited by the club, which will be considered to have lost it by 3-0. Moreover, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body may take further disciplinary measures if the circumstances so justify."
The news will come as a shock to the former Chelsea manager who admitted he was 'scared' by the situation at the club.
Earlier this week, he said: "I think that I haven’t [got] to send a message to anyone because the situation is very clear and it is the situation I repeat.
"Every day, every day we are having contact with the people that are false negative and become positive and then everyone is a bit scared, I think because we all have family and why I have to take this risk?
"Why? This is my question. Today we had the training session, we prepared the game and yesterday two other positives, today two other positives and tomorrow, who? Me? I don’t know. Maybe.
"Better me than a player for sure but I think that it is not right for everyone because we have family and we have contact with them when we come back home we have contact with our family, but I repeat and it’s a pity that today during the press conference I have to speak about a different situation not football because football is the most important thing in a press conference but today to speak about football is impossible, it's impossible.
"There are situations that made me very, very upset, very upset because the situation is serious and it is contagious and there is a big infection and now for sure we are a bit scared because tomorrow we don’t know what happens."
It sums up a rather disappointing season for Spurs who languish in seventh place in the Premier League, a point behind bitter rivals Arsenal on 25.
Up next they travel to Leicester City on December 16 who will be desperate for a win as they look to keep their top four hopes alive at the King Power Stadium.
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