It is now down to UEFA to decide the outcome of Tottenham's postponed Europa Conference League fixture against Rennes following confirmation that the tie will now not be played.
Set to be a busy week in N17 for Antonio Conte and his players with the French side and Brighton & Hove Albion on the agenda, a Covid outbreak at the club meant both matches had to be postponed as a result.
That in turn raised question marks over when exactly the team's final Europa Conference League Group G fixture would take place, with UEFA rules stating that the match would have to be played by Friday, December 31.
It was always going to be extremely tricky to come up with a new date for the game due to Tottenham's hectic schedule in December with Premier League and Carabao Cup fixtures pencilled in, as well as the French league having a winter break following the round of fixtures on Wednesday, December 22 and not resuming again until early January.
With Rennes making their feelings crystal clear about the predicament after arriving in the capital on Wednesday evening, and Vitesse also having their say on the integrity of the competition as they looked to pip Spurs to second place, UEFA finally confirmed on Saturday morning that the game will not be played after the sides could not agree on a new date.
“Following a COVID-19 outbreak in the team of Tottenham Hotspur FC ahead of the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage match against Stade Rennais FC, scheduled to take place on 9 December 2021 in London, the match could not take place," read a statement from UEFA.
"In accordance with Annex J of the UEFA Europa Conference League regulations, UEFA, in cooperation with the two clubs tried to find a viable solution in order to reschedule the match, so as to ensure the group stage could be completed accordingly.
"Unfortunately, despite all efforts, a solution that could work for both clubs could not be found.
"As a consequence, the match can no longer be played and the matter will, therefore, be referred to the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body for a decision to be taken in accordance with Annex J of the above-mentioned competition regulations."
The final decision now rests with UEFA but there is one key paragraph in that Annex J that could work against Tottenham, however.
It reads: "If it is not possible to reschedule the match within the final deadline set out in Annex J.4.1 (December 31), the club that cannot play the match will be held responsible for the match not taking place and the match will be declared by the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body to be forfeited by the club, which will be considered to have lost it by 3-0.
"Moreover, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body may take further disciplinary measures if the circumstances so justify."
It is understood that UEFA's decision will be based on the panel deciding whether Conte's team had the required amount of players to meet UEFA rules (13 or more A list players available) and who could have rescheduled and played the group fixture before the deadline.
Regardless of the outcome of UEFA's final decision over the European tie, Tottenham acted the right way and took the necessary precautions due to the Covid outbreak at the club.
As reported by football.london earlier in the week, a number of players and coaching staff had tested positive for Covid and each day during the week had brought about more positive test results.
Speaking to the media in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Conte, who was visibly upset about the "serious" situation, revealed that the numbers were unfortunately increasing.
"Eight players and five members of staff. But the problem is that everyday we are having people with Covid. People that yesterday weren't positive, today were positive and we continue to have contact with people we think are negative but the day after become positive," stressed the Italian.
"I think this is a serious problem, and it's a pity because during the press conference I'd like to talk about football and the next game and not about Covid.
"But the situation is serious. Everyday we are having positives. Today one player and one member of staff. I think the worst is we don't know and we continue to have contact with people that the day before weren't negative. For sure this is not a good situation. We have a training session to prepare for the game against Rennes, but it's very difficult.
"At the end of the training session today, again one player positive. Another member of staff is positive. Tomorrow who? Me? Another player? Another member of staff? And we continue in this way.
"The situation is serious but I don’t know and it’s a pity because I repeat during the press conference I want to speak about football and now to speak about Covid I think this is not a good thing for you, me, our fans, for all of football I think."
As well as stressing that the situation wasn't right as they would return home to their families and have contact with them, he added: "There are situations that made me very, very upset, very upset because the situation is serious and it is contagious and there is a big infection and now for sure we are a bit scared because tomorrow we don’t know what happens."
With some players testing positive after training having been in contact with their teammates and the numbers continuing to increase, Spurs confirmed in a statement late on Wednesday that they had closed the first team area of their training base in the interests of the health and safety of players and staff following discussions with the Health Security Agency and DCMS advisers.
The game was quite rightly postponed as a result but now it is in the hands of UEFA what happens next.
Potentially now on the verge of exiting the Europa Conference League depending on the outcome, it would be extremely harsh to say the least if Spurs are condemned for taking the proper precautions during a global pandemic where cases are on the rise in the UK.
Their actions will have slowed down the rate of cases at the club which in all likelihood would have only increased if the game had gone ahead as originally planned.
Rennes would also have been put at serious risk as a result and that could have led to an almighty fallout in the days after the fixture had they recorded a number of positive tests.
With the draw for the Europa Conference League play-off knockout round taking place in Switzerland on Monday afternoon, UEFA will want to reach their verdict sooner rather than later, although it's not clear when exactly that will be.
Both sides will need to present evidence as they make their case and UEFA will assess Spurs' situation leading up to the game and whether Rennes should be more flexible in regards to agreeing on a new date.
Vitesse will also have a close eye on proceedings and hope UEFA act in the French side's favour as they aim to secure a place in the next round of the newly-formed European competition.
Tipped to go all the way in the Europa Conference League and lift the trophy in May, Tottenham's journey on the road to Tirana may now be set to come to an abrupt end a lot earlier than expected.
UEFA have a big decision to make in the coming days but one thing for sure is that the club took the necessary precautions following a Covid outbreak that could have had further implications if the match had taken place.
