Tottenham knocked out of the Europa Conference League

The Premier League side’s European campaign has come to a sudden end following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Tottenham are out of the Europa Conference League after forfeiting their final group match against Rennes.

Because of a coronavirus outbreak in the squad, Spurs had to postpone the game on December 9 at the last minute – much to the frustration of the Rennes team, which had already arrived in London.

UEFA warned it wouldn’t reschedule the fixture, and the European football governing body has now confirmed that to be the case.

Rennes have been granted a 3-0 win to finish as Group G winners, while Spurs exit the competition after finishing third in the standings behind the French club and Dutch side Vitesse.

A UEFA statement read: “Following several positive cases of COVID-19 that were identified from players and staff of Tottenham Hotspur FC, the 2021/22 UEFA Europa Conference League group stage match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Stade Rennais FC – scheduled to be played on 9 December 2021 in London, United Kingdom – could not be played.

“The matter was submitted to the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body, for a decision to be taken in accordance with Annex J of the Regulations of the UEFA Europa Conference League (2021/22 Season).

“Based on the Article 30 (4) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations and given the urgent circumstances of the matter, the ad-hoc chairman of the Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body referred the case to the Appeals Body.”

Antonio Conte’s side had protested they couldn’t play the fixture after eight players and five staff members tested positive for coronavirus 24 hours before kick-off. The outbreak also caused them to postpone their Premier League match against Brighton three days later on December 12.

However, UEFA decided otherwise and ruled in favor of an automatic victory for Rennes.

Spurs return to action on Wednesday for an EFL Cup quarter-final clash against West Ham after drawing 2-2 with Liverpool on Sunday.