Ole Gunnar Solskjaer takes ANOTHER swipe at TV bosses over fixture schedule

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has hit out at the decision to make Manchester United play Everton on Saturday lunchtime, just two-and-a-half days after the end of their Champions League clash with Villarreal.

Solskjaer criticised the lack of common sense in putting United’s match in the early slot on Saturday when they had played in Europe on Wednesday, while Liverpool and Manchester City – who were both in Champions League action on Tuesday – kick off at Anfield 28 hours later on Sunday.

Solskjaer compared it to a similar scenario last season when United had a long trip to Turkey in midweek to face Istanbul Basaksehir and then played Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday lunchtime.

Man United host Everton on Saturday lunchtime, just over two days after beating Villarreal

‘Absolutely no explanation – well, it’s TV,’ said the United manager. ‘No common sense at all. We had the same scenario last year in Turkey.

‘We have to make it happen. The crowd is important. We and played Chelsea played Wednesday night. We could easily have played Sunday and Liverpool-City on Saturday. Common sense might not be so common.’

It is not the first time that the Norwegian has blasted TV companies. After United’s 3-1 win at Everton last November, Solskjaer said his team were ‘set up to fail’ after a quick turnaround from their trip to Turkey.

Solskjaer blasted TV bosses, saying there was ‘no common sense’ for the early fixture

‘We were set up to fail,’ he told BT Sport after that game. ‘The kick-off time set us up to fail.

‘We have been to Turkey, played loads of games this season already, we got back Thursday morning and we are playing Saturday lunchtime, it’s an absolute shambles.

‘These boys deserve better. Luke Shaw has got injured because of it. It’s a hamstring which might be a long one and Marcus Rashford might be struggling.

‘The authorities set us up for fail, who is responsible? We’ve had enough of that.

‘Players this season, in these times, a pandemic, mentally and physically it’s draining. Let us play on a Sunday, there’s an international break after this, it’s a joke.’

BT Sport had opened up a later kick off slot to accommodate teams playing on Wednesdays

Solskjaer’s rage was echoed by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp at the time, leaving TV bosses stunned as clubs are able to contest fixture schedule changes. 

However, BT Sport have since opened up a new kick off slot of 7.45pm on a Saturday for teams that have Champions League commitments on a Wednesday night, yet this was not taken up for United’s game with Everton. 

In a statement confirming the news, BT Sport chiefs wrote: ‘BT Sport will accommodate the new Premier League agreement around fixture congestion during UEFA Champions League weeks, with the BT Sport Saturday game moving to a prime evening slot of 7.45pm when teams involved have played in Europe on the prior Wednesday.’