Tony Cottee was absolutely livid after West Ham United were once again paired with Freiburg for the Europa League knockout rounds, despite already facing them twice during the group stage. The rules of the competition allowed Freiburg to advance through a playoff, leading to the same matchup occurring again. Cottee expressed his frustration on Twitter, calling it “absolutely ridiculous” and likening it to Groundhog Day for the players, clubs, and fans.
He pointed out that in the Champions League, teams are prohibited from being drawn against a team from their own nation or group in the first knockout round, making the situation in the Europa League even more perplexing. The former player argued that this rule goes against the desire for exciting and unique matchups in European competitions, asserting that there were plenty of other options for pairings. Cottee concluded by stating that the rule needs to be discarded, particularly as it affected three different ties in this round of the tournament.
