What is Annex J and does Tottenham Hotspur really have a chance?

Tottenham Hotspur’s fate in Europe has been placed in the hands of the UEFA Control, Ethics, and Disciplinary Body, in accordance with Annex J; so what exactly is Annex J?

If you take the time to read the official Regulations of the UEFA Europa Conference League, you will find that UEFA took almost every conceivable scenario into account. There are 14 different sections in the document covering everything from player registration, to equipment, to financial and commercial rights.

After those 14 sections, there are an additional 10 Annexes running from Annex A through Annex J. The last two – Annexes I and J – would have been unheard of three years ago but are standard operating procedure today.

Annex I covers special Covid-19 rules in the qualifying phases of the competition. Annex J then covers the special rules related to Covid-19 during the group stages of the competition. It is this Annex J which we need to know because that policy determines Spurs’ fate.

What is in Annex J?

For starters, Annex J begins with a note stating any discrepancies between “this Annex” and any other regulations, it is the Annex that prevails. From there Annex J consists of four parts, with only the last two really relevant to Tottenham in this circumstance.

The first two sections J.1 and J.2 are related to travel, country, and venue restrictions. Given the reason for the match to be postponed was not related to travel, country, or venue restrictions, those two parts simply do not apply in this instance. The match was not called because the UK authorities shut it down, it is was about how many players were available.

Testing and player eligibility Section J.3  is where things start to get interesting for Tottenham, Rennes, and by default Vitesse.

First, it needs to be determined how many players were actually available for Tottenham. If there were 13 A-list players and a registered goalkeeper – there are three – available then Tottenham is likely to be considered at fault and will be the forfeiting club losing 3-0.

However, if Tottenham were deemed to have less than the required number of A-list players, then things start to get very interesting and it may come down to policy interpretation and just how willing Rennes really was to reschedule the match.

According to J.3.1. if the match cannot be scheduled by the deadline, which is December 31, 2021, according to the Annex, “the club that cannot play the match will be held responsible for the match not taking place”.  If the UEFA Control, Ethics, and Disciplinary Body determines it is Rennes that is the club that cannot play the match – remember they want their holiday break – then they could decide in Spurs favor.

Now that is a mighty favorable interpretation of the rule but UEFA does strange things all the time.

A forfeit may be trouble for Tottenham

If Tottenham is deemed to have had enough A-list players and they were the club that cannot play, a 3-0 loss and being out of the competition may not be Spurs’ only problem. Section J.3.1 goes on after the forfeit bit and states that the Disciplinary Body “may take further disciplinary measures if the circumstances so justify”.

In this instance – given the clear spread beyond the first team and around the League and UK – Tottenham was not trying to get away with something here. With the fixture congestion and the possibility that rescheduling may not be possible, trying to get away with something was clearly never Spurs intent.

If Tottenham is forced to forfeit, the circumstances should not justify further punishment, given the player’s health and safety issues, but, again, UEFA does strange things all the time.

So section J.3 is about testing and player availability, section J.4 is about the overall completion of the group stage. It is in section J.4.1 where the 31 December 2021 deadline is established. However, J.4.2 and J.4.3 give UEFA a couple of outs.

Two long shots for Tottenham

In J.4.2 it notes about there being any reason for the group stage not being completed, the UEFA Executive Committee will decide on the principles for determining clubs qualified for the Round of 16 or the Knock-out round play-offs.

Now one game not being played is really not the intent for this clause but one could argue a single match not being played constitutes an unfinished group stage, as we have two teams that only played five matches. If it comes down to a committee to determine principles, Tottenham has a shot. 

The last clause in the entirety of the full Conference League regulation may be the ultimate deciding factor, as it truly is the UEFA kick the can clause.

J.4.3 is about unforeseen circumstances.  Maybe the Disciplinary Body decides, for whatever reason, neither club is considered at fault and the game simply cannot be played -that could be construed as an “unforeseen circumstance” which defaults the decision back to Article 83.

What is Article 83? Article 83 is about unforeseen circumstances or force majeure, in which case a UEFA Emergency Panel is called to make a final decision. In other words, UEFA can decide whatever they want if they choose to invoke Article 83.

The ideal permutation in all this would be for UEFA to make an exception and have Tottenham and Rennes play sometime between now and February when the playoffs are set to begin.

However, it is unlikely a match will ever be played, and we will be left with the UEFA Control, Ethics, and Disciplinary Body and their interpretation of Annex J, unless, of course, Article 83 applies.