TOTTENHAM’S clash with Bournemouth has been delayed by 15 minutes because the Cherries arrived at White Hart Lane late.
The teams were due to face off in the Premier League with a 3pm kick-off.
GettyTottenham’s game with Bournemouth was delayed due to the Cherries arriving late[/caption]
EPAThe Premier League clash was pushed back by 15 minutes[/caption]
But the Bournemouth team bus got caught in heavy London traffic following an accident on the roads as it made its way to the stadium.
And with Gary O’Neil’s side getting to the ground so late and therefore disrupting their preparations, the Premier League agreed to push the game back.
Tottenham arrived in their matching navy matchday outfits at their usual time to get ready for the warm-ups and their final rituals before the game.
However, Bournemouth were nowhere to be seen.
But the Cherries did tweet a picture of the Spurs pitch at 12.09pm and then their starting XI line-up at 2pm.
Sky reporter Gary Taphouse tweeted at 2.17pm to say the Bournemouth players had just arrived – just 43 minutes before the original kick-off time.
And the delay was eventually confirmed at 2.30pm – with it pushed back by a quarter of an hour to allow the Cherries to get ready.
A brief Premier League statement said: “Kick-off for today’s Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and AFC Bournemouth will be delayed by 15 minutes to 3.15pm, due to local transport issues.”
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This is the third time Tottenham kick-offs have been delayed in 2023 – with the away trip at Fulham and the home clash with AC Milan also falling victim to the London travel chaos.
There was huge confusion last month when both Tottenham and AC Milan got stuck in congestion and arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at 7pm for the 8pm kick-off in their Champions League last-16 clash.
BT Sport initially said there was a 30-minute delay, then none at all before eventually it was decided to start at 8.10pm.
Similarly, Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund got underway at the same time after the Germans’ journey to Stamford Bridge was impacted.