Manchester United Women are investigating after multiple pairs of their players’ boots went missing en route to their Champions League qualifier in Norway.
United had to scramble to buy a further 15 pairs from a local sports shop in Bergen, after only discovering the boots had disappeared on the day of the game.
Marc Skinner’s side lost 1-0 to SK Brann in the first leg of their qualifier, a disappointing loss that leaves them with it all to do in the return leg in Leigh.
Midfielder Lisa Naalsund, who is from Bergen, told Norwegian station TV 2: “There were a few shoes that disappeared.
“We haven’t quite figured out where they are yet. It was right before we went to the stadium, so there was a bit of chaos.
“It’s not ideal that someone has to play with new shoes. We would prefer to avoid that happening.”
United chartered a flight to Norway from Manchester and trained at Carrington prior to the game.
Not all the players had to play with new boots. A United spokesperson said: “A bag containing some of our players' boots went missing during the journey to Bergen. We are investigating how this happened.
“In the meantime, we secured new boots of the right make and sizes for all the affected players.”
More than 15,700 tickets were sold for the match, making it the best-attended women’s game ever played in Norway.
