Tottenham have been handed a major boost in their pursuit of saving their season by winning the Europa League. The Premier League strugglers are set to face Bodo/Glimt in the first leg of the semi-finals later this week, and Ange Postecoglou will welcome the news coming out of Norway.
Spurs were forced to dig deep to secure their spot in the final four of the competition, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 on aggregate thanks to Dominic Solanke’s goal in the away leg of the tie.
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Despite suffering a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Liverpool over the weekend, Tottenham may now be encouraged heading into Thursday’s clash as Bodo/Glimt will be without two key players for the match in north London.
According to Norwegian media, Bodo captain Patrick Berg and fellow midfielder Hakon Evjen have been ruled out of the first leg as club officials misinterpreted UEFA’s booking rules in the quarter-finals. The rules state that yellow cards from the earlier stages of the competition are wiped out after the quarter-finals have concluded.
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However, those at Bodo/Glimt believed that their stars would avoid a one-match suspension for picking up three bookings in the Europa League even if the third booking came in the second leg of their quarter-final victory over AS Roma.
Both Berg and Evjen were booked late on in Rome, with striker Andreas Helmersen being sent off in extra time, before their penalty shootout victory. The bookings were initially overlooked by those at the club before Viaplay made them aware that the trio would now take on Tottenham without their two midfielders.
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After being made aware of the consequences of the bookings, the ‘atmosphere in the dressing room’ changed and spirits were somewhat dampened as the squad were under the impression that bookings in Rome would not have any impact on their players being available.
The mishap was interpreted as a ‘administration mistake’ which will leave Kjetil Knutsen with plenty to consider as he looks to ensure that Spurs do not run away with the tie before the second leg. The Bodo boss may also be without centre-back Odin Bjortuft for his side’s trip to England after he sustained a groin injury over the weekend, with winger Ole Didrik Blomberg also not featuring in the victory over FKUM due to an unknown injury.