Oliver Glasner reveals Crystal Palace thwarted in attempts to get Arsenal match moved | OneFootball

Eagles boss bemoans scheduling after being given one day less than Aston Villa to prepare for FA Cup semi-final clash at Wembley

Frustrated: Oliver Glasner believes it would have been fair for Crystal Palace and Aston Villa to play on the same midweek date

Jonathan Brady/PA Wire

Oliver Glasner has revealed that the Premier League rejected Crystal Palace’s request to have their match against Arsenal moved.

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace had already been picked as a televised match on Sky Sports by the time it had to be rescheduled.

In the intervening period, Sky also picked Manchester City vs Aston Villa as Tuesday night’s televised match. The broadcaster avoided showing two matches simultaneously by instead switching Arsenal vs Palace to Wednesday.

Palace were made aware of these reasons when they wrote to the Premier League to request an alternative rescheduled date. They were told the match would remain a Wednesday fixture.

Speaking about the Arsenal game, Palace boss Glasner said: “We wanted it [moved], but sometimes you shout against the wind. We spoke to them before. I didn’t talk to them. We also would have preferred playing on Tuesday, because it makes a difference having one more day.

“I could never complain about fixtures, but I think it’s not the best choice from the Premier League. Villa play tonight [Tuesday] and we play tomorrow. Fair would be both teams play on the same day, either on Tuesday or on Wednesday.

“At this stage of the season, it can influence if you have two days’ rest or three days’ rest. But we have to accept it, and I’m pretty sure we will be fit on Saturday.”

The Austrian added: “Players are in a great shape. The medical team, sports science team, fitness department are doing great work with the players.

“It’s just that when we’re talking about fair play — and England should be, maybe, the role model of fair play — it should be [Villa and Palace playing on] the same day.”

Palace have little left to play for in the league this season. Glasner, however, believes his players will still be up for the fight against Arsenal, who similarly have their attention slanted more towards cup action — in their case, the Champions League semi-finals.

“If somebody believes that he has to save his energy for Saturday, we have no chance of winning the [Arsenal] game — it’s quite easy,” he said.