Bodo/Glimt make embarrassing blunder that hands Tottenham major advantage
It has been revealed that Bodo/Glimt are set to miss a couple of their key players for the first leg against Tottenham Hotspur after making an embarrassing mistake, and the Norwegian side are now worried that they are going to pay dearly on Thursday.
It has been well documented over the past few days that Bodo/Glimt will arrive in London with a weakened side, with three of their key men suspended and two others being injury doubts.
We have now learned that the two of those suspensions are a result of an embarrassing mistake by the Norwegian side.
Shockingly, it turns out that they misinterpreted UEFA’s rule regarding suspensions, mistakenly believing that the suspensions would not carry over to the semifinal.
How Bodo/Glimt misunderstood suspension rules
Bodo captain Patrick Berg and midfield partner Hakon Evjen both picked up their third booking of the tournament in the second leg of the quarterfinal against Lazio, which means they will have to sit out the first leg against Tottenham Hotspur.
UEFA’s rules state that yellow cards from earlier in the competition are wiped out after the quarterfinal.
However, according to The Sun, Norway’s champions wrongly believed their players would avoid a one-match suspension even if they reached the three-booking threshold for a ban in the second leg of their quarterfinal.
It turns out that the club were stunned when they were told after the game that their midfield duo would not be able to travel to London.
Jonas Bergh-Johnsen, a reporter for Viaplay, explained (via The Sun): “The atmosphere in the dressing room kind of changed after the news from Viaplay that, ‘You’re going to miss a couple of your absolute key players in the first leg’.
“I cannot understand how that is possible, that they thought they were allowed to have yellow cards in Rome. The suspension does not disappear; that was the mistake that someone in the administration in Bodo made.”
Bodo/Glimt are fearing major Tottenham thrashing on Thursday
Bodo/Glimt will also be without striker Andreas Helmersen, who was sent off in extra time against Lazio, while centre-back Odin Bjortuft and winger Ole Blomberg are injury doubts.
That means that Tottenham’s opponents could be lining up without half of their first-choice side tomorrow, and Bergh-Johnsen explained that the club fear the tie might be over in the first leg.
The journalist said on An Echo Of Glory podcast: “They were thinking maybe a 2-0, 3-1 defeat would be OK to go to Bodo/Glimt but now they are worried that it may be even worse.
“Patrick Berg is so instrumental to everything they do and they don’t really have any proper back-ups. Patrick is an ever-present in the team. So it’s really hard to get in there and to get any practice of playing that very vital role for the team.”
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