The Independent

Son Heung Min is desperate to lead Tottenham Hotspur to Europa League glory in Bilbao and complete the missing “final piece” of his career at the club.

Spurs captain Son has scored 173 goals in 451 appearances across 10 seasons in north London but failed to land silverware and has watched long-serving team-mates Hugo Lloris and Harry Kane depart in recent years.

The South Korean has been involved in two painful cup final defeats for Tottenham - to Liverpool in the Champions League in 2019 and a Carabao Cup loss at Wembley to Manchester City four years ago – but believes the feeling around next Wednesday’s showpiece is different.

While Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs have endured a torrid Premier League campaign, they have saved their best for Europe to knock out AZ Alkmaar, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bodo/Glimt in impressive fashion and boast three victories already over finalists Manchester United this term.

During an interview with Korean media at the club’s Europa League final media day on Monday, Son said: “We’ve been talking about this for years. The biggest reason I stayed at Tottenham was because I wanted to do something others couldn’t achieve.

“That’s probably why I’m where I am now. You need all the pieces to complete a puzzle. I think I’ve gathered all the other pieces to make that puzzle complete.

“It feels like I’ve been missing that one most important final piece and I’ve been trying to find it for the past 10 years. I really hope I can finally complete the puzzle this time.

“It feels different this time. I really want to win – more than anyone else, I think. So many people are supporting us with the same desperate passion I feel. If we prepare well, I believe we can achieve it.”

Son has watched various Spurs players leave and taste success elsewhere, with Kane the latest after he helped Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title earlier this month.

The duo struck up a formidable partnership at Tottenham and while Kane left almost two years ago, he has given his old strike partner “energy” before a date with destiny at San Mames on May 21.

“I actually texted Harry and he called me back on a video call! I was really happy to see him happy,” Son reflected.

“He is one of my best friends and to see a once team-mate achieve so much, I was delighted for him like he’s my family. With that positive energy, I hope he can support Spurs in the game as well so we can achieve a good result like his.

“For me, every game is special and every game is meaningful, but this game feels like an opportunity that may not come back.”

PA

Felix Zwayer has been chosen as the referee for this month’s Europa League final between Manchester United and Tottenham, with some fans sure to recognise the official’s name.

Zwayer, who will officiate the all-English clash in Bilbao on 21 May, was handed a six-month ban in 2005 for his part in a match-fixing scandal.

The German, 43, received the ban from his nation’s football federation after working as an assistant referee to Robert Hoyzer, who was found to have taken bribes to fix several 2. Bundesliga matches that he officiated.

Zwayer allegedly accepted a €300 bribe ahead of a game involving Wuppertaler SV, and he later informed the German FA of Hoyzer’s match fixing – with three other referees accompanying Zwayer.

Zwayer’s ban was kept secret until German publication Die Zeit released “The Zwayer File” in 2014. Meanwhile, Hoyzer was banned for life.

In 2021, Jude Bellingham took issue with Zwayer’s officiating in a Bundesliga match between rivals Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, saying: “You give a referee that has match-fixed before the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?” Bellingham, who played for Dortmund at the time, was fined €40,000 for his comments.

Zwayer subsequently took a break from refereeing, though he was back in the spotlight at Euro 2024. There, he refereed England’s semi-final against Netherlands, another game in which Bellingham played.

Uefa said in a statement on Monday (12 May): “An international referee since 2012, the 43-year-old has this season taken charge of seven Uefa Champions League matches, including the semi-final decider between Paris and Arsenal, plus two in the Uefa Europa League and one in the Uefa Conference League.

“This will be his second Uefa competition final as a referee, with Zwayer having previously been in charge of the 2023 Uefa Nations League final between Croatia and Spain. He was also the lead official in four matches at Uefa Euro 2024.”

Zwayer’s assistants in the Europa League final will be compatriots Robert Kempter and Christian Dietz, while the fourth official has been named as Italy’s Maurizio Mariani.

“Football makes people mad,” Sepp Blatter once said, and that never seems truer than when the football doesn’t mean that much. Welcome to the Premier League’s post-table period, where everything seems to have been turned on its head and you wouldn't necessarily guess where teams are from their feelings.

There are some parallels with the post-truth era in politics in terms of perceptions, albeit with the significant caveat that very little of it actually matters.

That is the entire point. There is so little to play for, and yet that very vacuum has seemed to make so many people around football more histrionically animated than if everything was going to the wire. The latter might at least have provided some focus. The last weekend’s matches were a vintage set of post-table fixtures: on the beach but in the wars. There was so much that didn’t seem to make sense.

Most conspicuously, there are Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, directly above the relegation zone in 16th and 17th, respectively. That’s despite their positions on the Deloitte Football Money League as the fourth and ninth wealthiest clubs in the world, as they stand on the brink of a Champions League return through Europa League final glory.

One of Ruben Amorim or Ange Postecoglou could lift a historic trophy, but there they were openly discussing their own futures in such an agitated manner.

Most visibly, there was a white t-shirted Evangelos Marinakis publicly berating the manager who has taken his Nottingham Forest from 17th to seventh.

This was despite the shipping magnate temporarily placing Forest in a “blind trust”, due to his simultaneous ownership of both Olympiakos and Rio Ave and Uefa’s rules on that, as a consequence of the Nottingham club’s celebrated return to European football.

Documents at Companies House show Marinakis has ceased to be a "person with significant control" at the club. He didn't display too much control of emotion after the 2-2 draw with Leicester City, anyway.

Most emotionally, you wouldn’t have thought Liverpool were celebrating a Premier League title, given the conflicted atmosphere that developed once parts of the club started booing Trent Alexander-Arnold. Two weeks of jubilation instead evolved into what looked like an angry club culture war.

Even after that 2-2 draw, Mikel Arteta chose a spirited Arsenal comeback as the moment to berate his players for performance. That was only surprising in the context of the last two weeks, and comments he has made in opposite situations that have raised eyebrows.

And that is one thing that should be stressed with all of these contrasts. There are complicated contexts, that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Take the Liverpool case first, since that is what even Jamie Carragher said would now dominate headlines. It has.

The line that has developed throughout this controversy is that no one should tell the club’s supporters how to feel, and that’s perfectly fair. There are highly intimate local elements to this that only does close to it would truly understand.

Except, you now have Liverpool’s own match-going fans telling each other how to feel. Some who attended Anfield on Sunday have talked about arguments between supporters and a divisive atmosphere. One radio show featured a local in tears about the response.

It should similarly be stressed that there’s a significant difference between telling fans how to feel and outsiders understandably commenting on that reaction. It’s a big story, at one of the biggest clubs in the world.

These are the champions, a status that supporters have waited 35 years to properly celebrate. That memory will now, at least in part, involve this internal debate. What feels remarkable from the outside - and it should very much be emphasised this is the outside - is how a title celebration has led to this.

Except, we all know this wouldn’t have happened if the title was actually on the line. This is a direct product of the vacuum, but also the media-industrial complex around football. There’s not much to really move people on the pitch, but the business can’t stop. The afterglow of a title that would normally remain so warming can’t last that long when the furnace demands more. Even Alexander-Arnold’s announcement had to become “an event”. To think that there was a moment when he seemed to want to deride the noise around his future by putting his hand to his ear. He’s heard it now.

So has Nuno Espirito, albeit directly in his face. Forest do still have something to play for given that they're going for the Champions League but, in normal circumstances, this would be a bonus ambition amid a great season.

Sure, it’s disappointing that they might miss out on qualification having in January been considered as potential title challengers. Any rational analysis would conclude the team has massively overachieved, and that’s even in the context of Forest’s wage bill shooting up after a points deduction for a breach of financial rules last season.

And yet there was Marinakis, publicly berating his manager in scenes that are unprecedented even in the Premier League.

This is what football has become.

Even the absurdity of the Spurs and United seasons comes from the business of the game, and how financial incentives have ensured a Uefa rule where the Europa League also brings Champions League qualification. A trophy on its own apparently isn’t enough any more, so both clubs have essentially played as if their top-seven wage bills aren’t enough to fully compete on two fronts.

An increasingly resonant line, relayed in this writer’s book ‘States of Play’, was what a senior NFL figure told the Premier League’s founding executives when they were on a fact-finding missions.

“If you think you’ve got problems now, wait until you have money.”

Now, a season can’t just play out. The machine around it all has generated more chaos than we would have anticipated. Even the most measured business people are driven to irrationality in football. Look at some of the decisions that both Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Daniel Levy have made.

And yet that is also where two sides of this meet.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Alexander-Arnold story has been mild criticism for Arne Slot for bringing the right-back on, and contributing to the conflicted atmosphere. This is essentially asking an ultra-professional title-winning manager not play one of his best players when he’s trying to win a match against next season’s likely title rivals, because of the need to emotionally manage the crowd.

Except, of course a fan obviously isn’t going to think like a modern-day player. If they did, the professionals wouldn’t earn anywhere near as much as they do, and some of these controversies wouldn’t even arise.

It is precisely these pure emotions that the business of the sport successfully seeks to capitalise; “the commodification of feelings” as sports lawyer and former Everton player Gareth Farrelly put it.

As befits the weekend, there is curiously some good and bad to this. Or, maybe more relevantly, there are occasionally moments when good seems bad and bad seems good.

Emotion and fan irrationality are what drives sport. Capitalising all of that are what erodes it. This is never clearer than in this post-table period, and trying to make sense of a bizarre weekend.

Europa League finalists Tottenham were brought back down to earth with a record-breaking Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace after a brace by Eberechi Eze in a 2-0 loss.

Spurs set up a European final with Manchester United on Thursday after they sealed a 5-1 aggregate victory over Bodo/Glimt, but Ange Postecoglou’s much-changed line-up slipped to a 20th league loss of the season.

It marks Tottenham’s worst-ever tally of defeats in the Premier League after they twice lost 19 fixtures in the 1993-94 and 2003-04 campaigns.

Perhaps of more concern to Postecoglou than another league reverse was a first-half injury to Dejan Kulusevski, but captain Heung Min Son did make his first appearance in a month following a foot issue.

It was a different story for Palace who warmed up for Saturday’s FA Cup final with three points after Eze tapped home on the stroke of half-time and added another – three minutes into the second period – to complete a league double over Tottenham.

Both teams have a final on the horizon and while Postecoglou made eight changes after victory in Bodo, Palace named arguably their strongest available line-up and had the ball in the net in the eighth minute.

Daniel Munoz was given aches of space down Spurs’ left-hand side and picked out Ismaila Sarr to tap home at the back post, but a VAR check followed and Jean-Philippe Mateta was adjudged to be fractionally offside by the halfway line.

The first injury scare of the afternoon occurred in the 13th minute when Kulusevski went down after he had a shot deflected wide – six minutes later and he had been replaced after another whack around his knee by Marc Guehi.

Palace had gone close again after Tottenham’s back-up goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky spilled a header by Munoz before Mathys Tel needed treatment for the hosts, but was able to continue.

Oliver Glasner watched his team continue to create opportunities, with Mateta denied by Kinsky before Munoz fired over via the crossbar.

After Sarr and Mateta had efforts blocked, Maxence Lacroix had a header disallowed from a corner after it hit the hand of captain Guehi on the way in.

It was a major let-off for Spurs but Palace finally went ahead on the stroke of half-time when Munoz again was played in and this time teed up Eze for a simple tap-in.

Postecoglou introduced Yves Bissouma at half-time and yet his first telling contribution was to let Eze run off him to make it 2-0.

Palace hit Tottenham with a slick counter-attack after Pedro Porro had a shot blocked, with Sarr sent clear and able to see up Eze to rifle home for his 12th goal of the campaign.

Only Kinsky saves from Mateta and his own defender Kevin Danso prevented further punishment for Spurs, who did eventually produce a response as Wilson Odobert’s dangerous cross was followed up by a Pape Sarr header put well wide.

The return of Son after a month out lifted a subdued home crowd but only momentarily as Palace almost grabbed a third through Sarr before boos from the home supporters’ left met full-time.

PA

There will be six English teams in next season’s Champions League after Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur made it through to the Europa League final.

The Premier League started the season with four Champions League qualification spots, but a fifth was added due to the overall performance of English teams in this season’s European competitions.

United and Tottenham are not in a position to qualify for the Champions League through their Premier League standing, with United 15th in the table and Tottenham 16th, so an additional spot will be created for the Europa League winners.

That will be added to the five existing Champions League qualification berths: newly crowned champions Liverpool have already claimed one, with Arsenal realistically requiring one win in their final three games to get over the line.

The remaining three spots will come down to a fight between Newcastle United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, with three fixtures left this season and four points between them.

The team who finishes sixth in the Premier League will qualify for the Europa League and the team who finishes seventh will go to the Europa Conference League. Bournemouth, Brentford, Brighton and Fulham are in contention for those places.

However, if Manchester City finish in the top-five and beat Crystal Palace to win the FA Cup, six and seventh will go to Europa League and eighth will get Conference League.

It means there will be nine English teams involved in European competitions next season, almost half of the Premier League.

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Man United v Tottenham final will ‘upset a lot of people’

Jamie Braidwood

Friday 09 May 2025 08:44 BST

Tottenham Hotspur will face Manchester United in the Europa League final on May 21st.

The winner will secure a trophy and Champions League qualification, despite both teams struggling in the Premier League.

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou dismissed criticism of their potential achievement, stating, "It's going to upset a lot of people isn't it!”.

He responded to comments suggesting the Europa League winner shouldn't qualify for the Champions League, stating he doesn't care about league struggles.

United's manager Ruben Amorim acknowledged both teams' difficult seasons and predicted a closely contested final.

The Europa League final in Bilbao will not be moved with Manchester United to face Tottenham Hotspur.

An all-English final gives two of the Premier League’s underperforming teams a chance to save their seasons and gain direct access to next year’s Champions League. United are in 15th place in the Premier League and Tottenham, who have not won a trophy since 2008, are 16th.

However, there is no chance that a Manchester United-Tottenham final could be moved to an English venue, with Bilbao’s San Mames stadium awarded the rights to host the Europa League final way back in 2021, the same year that Uefa decided the Basque city would host the 2024 Women’s Champions League final.

The San Mames has an official capacity of 53,289 but demand for tickets from Manchester United and Tottenham supporters will be far higher than what both teams would be allocated if they reach the final.

Uefa has confirmed that the two teams who reach the final will receive up to 15,000 tickets each, with a further 11,000 tickets up for general sale and the remainder offered to hospitality and sponsors.

And, as has been the case for recent all-English European finals between Manchester City and Chelsea in 2021 (Porto), Liverpool and Tottenham in 2019 (Madrid) and Arsenal and Chelsea in 2019 (Baku), the final will be played in Bilbao regardless of who advances.

Athletic Bilbao were dreaming of appearing in the Europa League final at their home stadium but United produced their finest performance under Ruben Amorim to win 3-0 against the 10-man hosts, before defeating the Spanish side 4-1 in the second leg.

Tottenham overcame the challenge of Norwegian underdogs Bodo/Glimt, winning 2-0 away from home in the second leg.

Liveupdated

Bodo/Glimt vs Tottenham LIVE: Spurs brace for Arctic expedition in bid for Europa League final

Tottenham are on the brink of a Europa League final but will need to overcome an Arctic expedition to get there

Tottenham have their sights set on a Europa League final but will need to overcome an Arctic expedition as they visit Bodo/Glimt in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final.

Ange Postecoglou’s side made a good start to the tie as they secured an advantage at home last week, but the late concession of a goal, narrowing their lead to 3-1, could yet prove costly.

Bodo/Glimt have beaten FC Twente, Olympiacos and Lazio by at least a two-goal margin in Norway on their run through to the last four, and will be confident of another good result as they welcome Spurs to the harsh conditions of the Aspmyra Stadion.

With the final just a hair’s breadth away for Spurs, triumph in the Europa League could act as Postecoglou’s last chance of salvation in the Tottenham hot seat after an otherwise miserable season.

Follow all the build-up and action from Norway below:

Aston Villa ‘not happy’ as Tottenham fixture moved

Aston Villa bosses insist they are "not happy" about their Premier League match against Tottenham being brought forward two days to assist the Londoners' preparations for a potential Europa League final appearance.

Villa's director of football operations Damian Vidagany said his club had reluctantly accepted the change, and hoped the "clear prejudice" against Villa in this decision would be remembered should they need assistance with fixture scheduling due to European football next season.

"Fixture changed and honestly, not happy," he wrote on X.

"But it could be even worst (sic). We really pushed - everyone in the club at different levels - with solid and fair grounds to protect our fans ( our main task and duty) and keep the Spurs match on Sunday. Nothing against Spurs."

Aston Villa ‘not happy’ as Tottenham fixture moved

The match has been brought forward by two days due to Spurs potentially playing in the Europa League final

Will Castle8 May 2025 17:30

Tottenham’s match against Aston Villa moved ahead of Europa League final

Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League match against Aston Villa has been moved forward by two days ahead of Spurs’ potential participation in this season’s Europa League final.

The match has been moved to aid Spurs’ potential preparations and recovery ahead of the final, with the Lilywhites now travelling to Villa Park on the evening of Friday, 16 May, having originally been scheduled to face Villa on Sunday, 18 May at 2.15pm.

The Europa League final takes place on Wednesday, 21 May, and Spurs are currently well-placed to earn a spot in Bilbao, having beaten Bodo/Glimt 3-1 in the first leg of their semi-final.

Tottenham’s match against Aston Villa moved ahead of Europa League final

The match was originally scheduled to take place on Sunday 18 May at 2.15pm

Will Castle8 May 2025 17:15

Ange Postecoglou hits back at Arsene Wenger in debate over Champions League spot

Ange Postecoglou has laughed off criticism from Arsene Wenger about Tottenham potentially qualifying for next season's Champions League and joked the club does "crazy things" to people.

"Well, I mean that's a debate that's been raging for years, like at least the last eight days," Postecoglou smiled. "I've never heard that before. I've said it before, mate, Spurs does crazy things to people. It does, it does.

"You put that club into any sentence or any issue and invariably they all come out and try and diminish as much as they can.

"Why wasn't there an issue before and it's an issue now? What's the difference? I don't understand what the difference is.

"Last year, fifth didn't get you into the Champions League, this year it does. What does that mean?

"There are competition rules and the rules say that the winner goes into (Champions League) and it's not the first year.

"And there isn't an asterisk against it that you have to do something else as well, but it's Spurs, mate, they love it. They love it.”

Ange Postecoglou hits back at Arsene Wenger in debate over Champions League spot

The former Arsenal manager suggested that it was wrong for the Europa League winners to earn entry into the Champions League

Will Castle8 May 2025 17:00

James Maddison out for the season with potential Europa League final looming

Now this is a big blow.

James Maddison will be out for the rest of Tottenham’s season with a knee injury, Ange Postecoglou has confirmed.

Maddison was forced off in last week’s 3-1 Europa League semi-final first-leg win against Bodo/Glimt, a result that put Spurs on the brink of a European final later this month.

However, should Postecoglou’s side pass this week’s test in the Arctic and book their place in Bilbao, Maddison will play no part in the final showcase after scans revealed he is facing an extended period on the sidelines.

James Maddison out for the season with potential Europa League final looming

Maddison will be out for the rest of the season with a knee injury and could miss the start of pre-season

Will Castle8 May 2025 16:45

Odds for the clash

Bodo/Glimt to progress 8/1

Tottenham to progress 1/9

The Independent vets betting sites for useability, security and responsible gambling tools. You can claim free bets here to use across a range of sports. Please read the terms.

Will Castle8 May 2025 16:30

Predicted line-ups

Bodo/Glimt XI: Haikin; Sjovold, Nielsen, Gundersen, Bjork; Evjen, Berg, Saltnes; Maatta, Hogh, Blomberg.

Tottenham XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bentancur; Johnson, Kulusevski, Richarlison; Solanke.

Will Castle8 May 2025 16:25

What is the Tottenham team news?

James Maddison appears likely to miss the remainder of the season for Tottenham, a major blow with Lucas Bergvall also out.

Heung Min Son is a doubt as he nears a return from injury.

Will Castle8 May 2025 16:20

What is the Bodo/Glimt team news?

Patrick Berg, Hakon Evjen and Andreas Helmersen should all be back in action for Bodo/Glimt after serving suspensions in the first leg.

Meanwhile, Daniel Bassi remains absent.

Will Castle8 May 2025 16:15

Is Bodo/Glimt vs Tottenham on TV? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch

The Europa League semi-final second leg is due to kick off at 8pm BST on Thursday 8 May at Aspmyra Stadion in Bodo.

How can I watch it?

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on TNT Sports 2, with coverage on the channel from 7pm BST. Subscribers can stream the action via discovery+.

Will Castle8 May 2025 16:05

Bodo/Glimt vs Tottenham LIVE

Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of Tottenham’s Europa League semi-final second leg with Bodo/Glimt.

Spurs take a 3-1 advantage to the Arctic but will need to withstand the harsh, unorthodox conditions to book their place in the Europa League final.

The Norwegian club are bidding to be the first from the nation to reach a European final and set up a meeting with either Manchester United or Athletic Bilbao.

Stay tuned for all the build-up and team news ahead of tonight’s clash.

Will Castle8 May 2025 16:00

Ange Postecoglou has laughed off criticism from Arsene Wenger about Tottenham potentially qualifying for next season's Champions League and joked the club does "crazy things" to people.

Spurs are in Norway for their Europa League semi-final second leg with Bodo/Glimt and hold a two-goal lead after last Thursday's 3-1 victory put them within touching distance of the final in Bilbao.

If Tottenham win the competition, despite being on course for their worst Premier League finish of 16th, it would earn them qualification for the Champions League due to a Uefa rule in place since the 2014-15 campaign.

However, ex-Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger - currently head of global football development at Fifa - this week told beIN Sport that Spurs or potential finalists Manchester United should not be able to get into Europe's elite competition via the Europa League and urged Uefa to "review" the ruling.

Ahead of Thursday's showdown in Bodo, where Tottenham will be without James Maddison and captain Son Heung-min, Postecoglou cut a relaxed figure as he reflected on the narrative around the north London club.

"Well, I mean that's a debate that's been raging for years, like at least the last eight days," Postecoglou smiled. "I've never heard that before. I've said it before, mate, Spurs does crazy things to people. It does, it does.

"You put that club into any sentence or any issue and invariably they all come out and try and diminish as much as they can.

"Why wasn't there an issue before and it's an issue now? What's the difference? I don't understand what the difference is.

"Last year, fifth didn't get you into the Champions League, this year it does. What does that mean?

"There are competition rules and the rules say that the winner goes into (Champions League) and it's not the first year.

"And there isn't an asterisk against it that you have to do something else as well, but it's Spurs, mate, they love it. They love it.

"I've got a great respect for Arsene. He's one of the legends of the game, but it does crazy things to people, mate. I love it, bring it on. It's going to upset people, so that makes me happy."

Asked if Tottenham had made him crazy during a season where he has battled with an enormous injury list and faced constant speculation over his future, Postecoglou said: "It hasn't made me crazy at all.

"I was talking about other people, I wasn't talking about me. I was asked the question about apparently there is a massive raging debate about the legitimacy of us or Man U potentially being in the Champions League next year.

"They need to change the rules because Spurs are involved."

Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario echoed the sentiments of Postecoglou when quizzed on Wenger's recent comments.

Vicario added: "Everyone can have thoughts about everything in life.

"I don't agree (with Wenger) but it doesn't matter. These are the rules and we want to go to the final."

PA

Aston Villa bosses insist they are "not happy" about their Premier League match against Tottenham being brought forward two days to assist the Londoners' preparations for a potential Europa League final appearance.

Spurs' request to bring the match forward from its original date of May 18 to May 16 has been granted by the Premier League, with Ange Postecoglou's side in a strong position to reach the continental final on May 21.

Villa's director of football operations Damian Vidagany said his club had reluctantly accepted the change, and hoped the "clear prejudice" against Villa in this decision would be remembered should they need assistance with fixture scheduling due to European football next season.

"Fixture changed and honestly, not happy," he wrote on X.

"But it could be even worst (sic). We really pushed - everyone in the club at different levels - with solid and fair grounds to protect our fans ( our main task and duty) and keep the Spurs match on Sunday. Nothing against Spurs."

Vidagany said that considering the alternatives were to bring the game forward even earlier to Wednesday or Thursday, playing on Friday was the least "damaging" they could get.

Efforts to bring the match forward to Saturday, May 17 were thwarted because of the clash with the FA Cup final, Vidagany said.

"Hopefully in the future all of them (the Premier League and the Football Association) would remind the clear prejudice in this case to Villa fans and will be consistent and equally supportive if we need changes to help us in Europe (if hopefully we are there)," Vidagany added.

"We didn't feel this support last season or this one. European football is not only demanding for English clubs on the verge of the finals."

Earlier this season, Villa had a rearranged Premier League fixture against Liverpool moved into a midweek slot that they thought would be free after avoiding a play-off round in the Champions League.

Villa's director of football Monchi echoed Vidagany's sentiments, adding on his own X account: "The change of the fixture of Tottenham is not what we wanted. We were not entitled to keep it and we got the least damaging alternative.

"Our fans didn't deserve but we tried hard to keep the match to protect the most important for us: YOU and OUR TEAM. We need you on Friday. Always Up the Villa!!!"

Tottenham lead their Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt 3-1 on aggregate heading into Thursday night's second leg.

If they progress they could well find themselves up against Manchester United in the final, with the Red Devils 3-0 up in their tie against Athletic Bilbao ahead of the home leg.

Leaving Spurs' match where it was would have given United a major advantage in terms of rest, with their league game against Chelsea already scheduled for May 16.

The kick-off time for that fixture has now been changed from 8pm to 8.15pm, with Villa v Tottenham starting at 7.30pm.

Both the Villa v Tottenham match and Chelsea v Manchester United will be live on Sky Sports.