Newcastle United set to avoid UEFA punishment as Eddie Howe explains press conference delay

Eddie Howe has explained the reason behind Newcastle United’s delayed arrival in Milan ahead of tomorrow night’s Champions League clash (kick-off 5:45pm).

The Magpies were due to leave Newcastle Airport at 2:30pm this afternoon after training at Benton in the morning but their flight didn’t take off until 4:49pm.

As a result, Howe’s pre-match press conference at the San Siro didn’t start until around 9pm, two hours after the originally scheduled time.

In doing so, Newcastle breached a UEFA regulation which states pre-match press conferences must take place between 12pm and 8pm local time on the day before the game.

But having explained the weather situation to the UEFA, United are understood to be handed nothing more than a warning.

Speaking about the situation. Howe said: “I believe it was a weather problem, so we were delayed taking off. We were sat on the runway for quite some time. It was nothing that’s too out of the ordinary for us. We do a lot of travelling in the UK, and it can happen from time to time. We’re here now.

“We were sat for some time.

“It’s just part and parcel of the job that we do. It’s not out of the normal that that can happen. This was a weather problem, but we’ve been in similar situations.

“It’s been a long day for us, we had an early start and a late finish. It’s been a day of preparation, trying to get all of our game plan right and make sure we’re as well organised as we can be for tomorrow’s game. It’s been intense. As soon as the game finished against Brentford, we immediately turned our attention to this one.

“It’s something we’re used to, although it’s a slightly later arrival time than we would have liked for the players. It’s no big deal though.

“The thought of not coming earlier in the day was so we could do our tactical work behind closed doors. For me, that’s so important, that we get our work done and are able to work because it’s such a small amount of time between games. It was really valuable that we did that.

“I don’t think it impacted the flight schedule, the weather did that. We wanted to train and prepare for the game, whereas if you train here then that goes out of the window.”