Europa League games forced to change kick off time by two hours

UEFA announced the changes on Thursday

The likes of Roma, Rangers, Nice, and Nottingham Forest are all in action tonight as part of 20 matches scheduled for the third round of the Europa League group phase.

Also this evening, teams will be competing in UEFA's third-tier competition, the European Conference League.

While the vast majority of fixtures will survive undisrupted by Storm Benjamin, Europe's governing body UEFA, has confirmed that the start time of two games have been altered.

The storm has brought wind speeds of up to 100mph to parts of northern Europe, raising alarms about the safety of fans travelling long distances to attend matches.

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In order to ensure safety of fans and players involved in the games, fixtures hosted by Dutch outfits Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar have been rearranged to avoid the worst of the stormy weather.

The Netherlands is one of the countries that is expected to be worst affected by the storm, and a "code orange" warning is now in place.

Feyenoord, coached by former Man United and Arsenal striker Robin van Persie, had been set to host Greek side Panathinaikos at 17.45pm (16:45 CET).

The game will now go ahead at 20:00pm (21:00 CET).

The second affected fixture involves AZ Alkmaar.

AZ had been scheduled to play Slovan Bratislava in the Conference League at 20:00pm (21:00 CET), however this fixture will now take place at the earlier time of 17:45pm (18:45 CET).

In a statement released by the club, Feyenoord were accepting of the reasons behind the change.

The club said: "Feyenoord's home match against Panathinaikos in the Europa League on Thursday evening will be moved forward to 4:30 PM. [A later update confirmed the game has now been moved to 8pm BST]

“Based on the weather forecast – Code Orange, with a storm likely to occur, with very strong wind gusts exceeding 100/120 kilometers per hour – it has been decided this evening, after consultations between UEFA and Feyenoord, among others, that the match can only go ahead if it kicks off at 4:30 PM tomorrow. The original kickoff time was 6:45 PM. [A later update confirmed the game has now been moved to 8pm BST]

“Feyenoord realises that this change is very last-minute and may affect existing plans, especially for supporters with tickets. However, the club also considers this a case of force majeure. 

“Feyenoord hopes that despite this change in kickoff time, as many supporters as possible will be able to attend and support the team.

“Supporters who are unable to attend the match against Panathinaikos due to this change can request a refund for their ticket. Feyenoord will provide more information early next week.”

A later statement confirmed the 8pm (9pm CET) start time. It reads: "Feyenoord - Panathinaikos has been moved to 21:00. The start time of the match has been postponed at the request of the municipality and based on the changed weather forecasts."

AZ have also made the promise to provide financial compensation to those unable to attend the new kick-off time.

A statement read: "The kickoff time for the match between AZ and SK Slovan Bratislava has been changed to 6:45 PM in consultation with UEFA and the local governing body. 

“The second leg of the Conference League season was originally scheduled to kick off at 9:00 PM.

“The time change is due to the storm expected to rage across the Netherlands on Thursday evening. The KNMI (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute) has therefore issued a code orange warning for the western coastal provinces. 

“Storm Benjamin is expected to be strongest in North Holland around 11:00 PM, with wind gusts of up to 100 kilometers per hour. If the match against the Slovaks were to start at 9:00 PM, this could pose safety risks for the return journey of all supporters.

“Tickets already ordered remain valid and grant admission to the match at 6:45 PM. AZ will discuss possible compensation for supporters unable to attend the match due to the circumstances later next week. AZ will contact these supporters.

“AZ naturally hopes to welcome everyone with a match ticket to the AFAS Stadium. Then we'll go on the hunt for victory together.”

Another Dutch side, Go Ahead Eagles, face Premier League side Aston Villa on Thursday, however their kick off time of 17:45pm has not been altered.

This is believed to be down to the fact that the club's more southernly location in the Overijssel province of the Netherlands means it is less likely to be affected by high winds.

In comparison, both Feyenoord and AZ are located nearer to the Dutch coast, where winds will be highest.