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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Mark Walker

Viktoria Plzen appeal horror schedule before Rangers Champions League clash

Viktoria Plzen will make a plea to Czech football chiefs to postpone their league game at the weekend ahead of their Champions League showdown with Rangers.

And boss Miroslav Koubek revealed he banned his players from having a beer to celebrate their comeback win in Switzerland.

[[Rangers]] face the Czechs on Tuesday at Ibrox after they held out for a 1-1 draw in Greece against Panathinaikos and Viktoria completed a 3-1 victory at Servette, despite losing the first leg at home.

But Viktoria are furious at their gruelling schedule ahead of the game.

They flew to Prague yesterday and have to fly to Mlada Boleslav today ahead of their game on Saturday at 5pm, before returning to Plzen ahead of a flight to Glasgow on Monday.

And they are exploring the possibility of a late call-off after Koubek slammed their fixture list.

He said: "The players are euphoric, but our schedule is a killer.

"I don't know if I should even unpack my bags, there's no time for anything, not even to study Rangers.

"Some associations make it easier for clubs and postpone their league round at such a moment. With us, it is automatic only in the case of the play-offs.


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"We will certainly be asking the question and I would welcome some help from the Czech football authorities.

"It's extremely complicated for us now. We don't meet the requirement set by FIFA that players have 72 hours of rest between matches. We now finish at midnight on Wednesday night and are supposed to play at 5pm on Saturday.

"We fly home on Thursday, we will leave for Mlada Boleslav on Friday, we will be home on Sunday and we will fly again on Monday.

"The players wanted to celebrate, but I told them they weren't even allowed a single beer. I ordered them to go straight to bed."

And Viktoria star Lukas Cerv praised his side's commitment after their win in Geneva.

He said: "Everyone, down to the last member of the support staff, gave absolutely everything.

"They scored after two minutes, but we didn't panic and we knew we would create chances.

"It was a struggle, but we deserved to go through over the two legs and now we have to concentrate on playing Rangers."

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