Don’t you forget about me
Sebastien Haller is not eligible to play for Ajax in this season’s Europa League. He should be: Ajax signed him from West Ham (for a record fee of £45m) so he could play in their most important games, after all. But he’s not, and it’s all because Ajax simply forgot to register the Frenchman in their Europa League squad. And the deadline has now passed. Oops.
It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that this blunder could cost Ajax a major European trophy. The Eredivisie champions take on Lille in the last 32 later this month, and will almost certainly be without Haller. Of course they have other forwards, but Haller is now their star striker and he’s looked good since he joined.
However, Ajax say they are in discussions with UEFA and Dutch FA about the issue, and there is a slim chance they might be able to persuade the governing bodies to make an exception.
Jose Mourinho reading this story, wondering who he can ‘accidentally’ leave out of Spurs’ Europa League squad next season:
