Benfica narrowly avoid UEFA Champions League rule break 24 hours ahead of Newcastle United clash
Newcastle United host Jose Mourinho’s Benfica at St James’ Park in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Newcastle United are back in Champions League action against Benfica on Tuesday night (8pm kick-off).
It’s Newcastle’s first match against the Portuguese outfit since losing in the Europa League quarter-final back in 2013.
The match will also see Jose Mourinho return to St James’ Park for the first time since a 2-2 draw as Tottenham Hotspur manager back in April 2021.
Newcastle will be looking to build on a 4-0 win at Union Saint-Gilloise last time out in the Champions League while Benfica are still looking to pick up their first points in the group phase after losses against Qarabag and Chelsea in their opening two games.
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Eddie Howe on Benfica clash
Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe spoke to the media ahead of the match at 4:30pm on Monday at St James’ Park.
He said: “We love these games. The Barcelona game here was so close — it could have been very different. We’ve been in that position a lot this season. The atmosphere will be electric, no doubt.
“I hope our performance mirrors the crowd’s energy. If we’re at our best, we have a good chance.
“I think [Mourinho’s] teams are always hard to beat — incredibly well-organised. He inspires discipline off the ball.
“Since taking over, Benfica have been tough to play against. Their Chelsea and Porto games were tight and well-defended. We know what to expect. It’s up to us to deliver our game plan.”
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Jose Mourinho press conference delayed
Mourinho’s press conference was scheduled to take place at 7:30pm at St James’ Park on Monday night, just 30 minutes before the UEFA deadline for press conferences to take place.
Article 79 of the UEFA regulations state: “Each club must hold a pre-match press conference the day before the match.
“Each press conference must be attended by the head coach of the team and at least one player. If the head coach is suspended for the match, clubs have the option of replacing him at the pre-match press conference with the assistant coach.
“The two press conferences must be arranged by the two clubs and UEFA together, so that the media can attend both. Press conferences must start between 12.00 and 20.00 local time. Exceptions to these timings must be agreed in advance with UEFA.”
But Benfica’s flight into Newcastle was delayed, meaning the former Chelsea boss was cutting it fine to avoid breaking UEFA rules.
Newcastle previously breached Article 73 (now Article 79) of UEFA regulations ahead of their opening Champions League match at AC Milan in 2023. The team’s flight into Milan was delayed by over two hours, resulting in Howe’s press conference not taking place until after 9pm.
But as Newcastle’s flight was delayed due to adverse weather conditions, they avoided any further punishment from UEFA.
Benfica, like Newcastle two years ago, opted to train back at home before heading on their Champions League flight.
But their the club’s into Newcastle ended up being delayed by 47 minutes which resulted in Mourinho and his squad landing at 6:56pm, just 34 minutes before the press conference was scheduled to start.
Unsurprisingly, the press conference was delayed by around 22 minutes, starting at 7:52pm and seeing Benfcia avoid a UEFA rule break by just eight minutes.