Bodo/Glimt's European Success Sparks Norwegian League Chaos

Glimt's CL run frustrates Norway rivals

Bodo/Glimt's Champions League run causes scheduling conflicts, postponing domestic league matches and sparking debate on prioritizing European competitions.

Bodo/Glimt's European success leads to postponed league matches, drawing criticism from domestic rivals and supporters...

Bodo/Glimt's Champions League adventure has been a dream, but it's caused headaches for Norwegian league rivals. Their European run led to several domestic matches being postponed, leaving other teams frustrated.

The Arctic Circle club has been making waves in Europe, sneaking into playoffs with wins over Manchester City and Atletico Madrid. They topped it off by knocking out Inter Milan 5-2 on aggregate, reaching the last 16.

Glimt's European success, however, has created logistical and scheduling challenges ahead ‌of the new Norwegian season.

The Norwegian league campaign begins this weekend, but with ‌Glimt facing Portuguese side Sporting in the Champions League last 16, their opening two domestic fixtures against Sarpsborg 08 and HamKam have been postponed with no new dates set.

The debate is heating up. Glimt's got Sporting in the CL last 16, and their opening league matches got postponed. Should Norway's domestic schedule bend for European games?

Other big European leagues don't budge – they don't postpone weekend fixtures for midweek matches. 

“It has become a bit much,” Zlatko Tripic, who captained Viking to the league title ahead of Glimt last season, told broadcaster TV2. “I am not a big fan ⁠of it, to be honest.”

Viking's skipper understands the balancing act, but isn't having it: “We cannot take such extreme consideration for Glimt.”

He's not a fan of the disruptions: “It creates confusion in the schedule and I hope we can avoid that in ‌the future,” he said. He's suggesting Norway's league starts earlier in March to avoid the squeeze.

The Glimt drama continues. Their Norwegian Cup win's gonna cause more league postponements, fuelling the debate. 

Frustration Boils Over

Supporters are fuming. Ole Kristian Sandvik, Norwegian Supporters Alliance chairman, blasted the schedule handling.

Sandvik's stance is clear: clubs in Europe should handle the load, and postponements hurt travelling fans.

Sandvik also argued that postponements lead to an uneven league table, with teams having played different numbers of matches deep into the season.

He added that last-minute schedule changes make it difficult for supporters to plan travel.

“It is very simple to play ‌two matches a week instead of postponing games,” Sandvik told TV2 earlier in the week. “Some accommodation for clubs in Europe is acceptable, but you cannot start postponing ‌matches once the league phase is underway.”

Sandvik argues postponements create an uneven playing field, with teams having different match counts deep into the season.

Last-minute changes hard for supporters to plan travel.