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Lithuania’s champion squad will astir apt beryllium forced to play a historical Champions League qualifier later this period distant from location aft renting their stadium retired for a show by US rapper Pitbull.
On Tuesday night, nan Toplyga champions, FK Kauno Zalgiris, hit Kosovo champions Drita 3-2, and 4-3 connected aggregate, to book their spot successful nan Champions League 2nd qualifying round, successful nan process securing astir €1.7m successful prize money. They are scheduled to recreation to Faroe Islands champions, KI , connected Tuesday earlier hosting nan 2nd limb successful Lithuania connected 28 aliases 29 July.
However, not expecting specified occurrence successful Europe, Zalgiris, champion known arsenic Lithuania’s astir dressed up hoops franchise, had already booked a performance by Pitbull astatine their 15,000-seater Darius and Girenas Stadium connected 31 July, leaving them scrambling for an replacement venue.
Zalgiris are understood to person tried to switch nan legs to play astatine location first, but this is unlikely. The Faroe Islands person their nationalist holidays, St Olav’s Day, connected 28 and 29 July. Furthermore, different Faroese club, HB, are scheduled to play Motherwell successful nan Conference League 2nd qualifying information connected 30 July, putting further strain connected section policing. So alternatively of playing astatine home, Zalgiris will astir apt now person to play successful Jonava, a municipality astir 30km away, astatine a stadium holding conscionable complete 2,500 people.
Speaking aft nan crippled successful Kosovo, Zalgiris’s caput coach, Zeljko Sopic did not hide his vexation astatine nan scheduling clash, complaining that nan squad will person to move “because of a performance by immoderate canine aliases somebody”, adding: “It’s amended I don’t opportunity thing astir that. It is what it is.”
The Zalgiris chair, Mantas Kalnietis, told nan Guardian that nan nine were alert of nan imaginable conflict but had hoped to play nan first lucifer astatine location to debar it. “For nan stadium, concerts for illustration this are a awesome root of revenue, and for nan city’s residents it’s besides awesome time,” Kalnietis said. “Ultimately nan income generated strengthens our full organisation, enabling america to build a amended squad and amended our chances of reaching nan group stage.
“This will beryllium nan only performance astatine nan stadium this summer, truthful we will not look this rumor again successful nan later rounds this year.”
Edgaras Stankevicius, president of nan Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF), described nan double booking arsenic “really unfortunate”, adding: “Jonava stadium is bully and tidy arsenic well, but it is still a large difference.
“It is normal to want to play these large games successful your location stadium. Situations for illustration these surely do not do immoderate bully for nan improvement of Lithuanian shot arsenic a whole.”
Pitbull will beryllium successful Kaunas, Lithuania’s second-largest city, arsenic portion of his European “I’m back!” tour, caller disconnected beating nan Guinness world grounds for nan “largest gathering of group wearing bald caps” astatine his London show past week.
