BODO, Norway (AP) — Heavy snow in Norway has heaped some doubt on a Europa League game on Thursday between Bodo/Glimt and Lazio.
UEFA said snowplows are on standby at Bodo’s stadium — one of the most northerly in world soccer at 67 degrees latitude — ahead of the 6:45 p.m. local time (1645 GMT) kickoff in the first-leg quarterfinal.
“Snowfall is expected until (2 p.m.) on matchday,” UEFA said in a statement. “The stadium facilities team will be ready with two snowplows should the conditions require their intervention to clear the artificial playing surface.”
If the game is not possible on Thursday, Lazio could be asked to stay and play Friday afternoon.
Lazio is due back in Rome for a city derby on Sunday evening against Roma in Serie A. The second leg against Bodo/Glimt is at Stadio Olimpico next Thursday.
Bodo/Glimt, the champion of Norway, played Europa League home games on schedule in January, February and March during its domestic offseason. Norway’s league season started on March 30 and runs to November to avoid the most severe cold.
Bodo/Glimt won each of those Europa games this year on its plastic pitch, by a combined score of 11-3, against Maccabi Tel Aviv, Twente and Olympiakos.
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The Associated Press
