Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Former Aberdeen chief executive and Uefa mentor Duncan Fraser lifts lid on Europa League complications as Dons face Sporting CP uncertainty

Former Aberdeen FC chief executive Duncan Fraser
Former Aberdeen FC chief executive Duncan Fraser

Uefa is trying to run European competitions in a situation comparable with no other.

The Champions League and Europa League qualifying rounds, reduced to one-legged ties this year amid the coronavirus pandemic, arguably requires the greatest amount of travel from a sizeable number of human cargo.

Aberdeen are one of four Scottish teams experiencing the protocols and restrictions required to get a game of football played. They travelled to Norway last week to face Viking FK, where currently quarantine is mandatory for UK visitors, but were tested before and after arrival to allow them to compete safely.

They fly out to Lisbon this morning for a game that, as yet, might not take place, owing to the surge in infections in Portugal and the Sporting CP squad. The Dons are at the mercy of an invisible obstacle.

“Always before a European game you’d have a site visit from your ops team, visit the stadium and view hotels, choose one for the team, journalists and supporters if they travel with the team,” said Duncan Fraser, who left his role as Aberdeen’s chief executive earlier this summer to become a Uefa mentor.

“It’s almost impossible to do that now. You’ll have a travel representative, and Aberdeen have someone with vast experience, who has someone based in or close to all the venues. You’ll be relying on those external people more than ever. All of that will be done right at a club like Aberdeen, because they’re so professional with the way they go about it.

“For less experienced clubs it is a huge effort. You really need the home team to be on top of things and to support wherever possible inexperienced away clubs travelling. Great cooperation between the clubs is vital at all times, now more than ever.

“What you’re trying to get across to the away team is it’s not the local team (making the decision) it’s the national government that are saying this is how we do it. Uefa have been doing all they can to support clubs but ultimately it comes down to local and national laws.”

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes will leave no stone unturned in preparation, according to Duncan FraserThe situation is fluid. Countries are at different stages of dealing with the virus and have handled it in contrasting ways. The UK is seeing a new raft of measures this week to combat a second wave. To try get uniform procedure across the board, from a Uefa perspective, is problematic.

“It’s constant, week-to-week,” said Fraser. “None of the ties for the play-offs will be decided until after Thursday’s games. Getting Uefa personnel to games via scheduled flights is time-consuming and late changes are sometimes unavoidable as flights are cancelled and testing results in unexpected positive outcomes.

“At least, if the Dons get through, they’ll have a home tie. In these circumstances being at home is far easier. The cost is irrelevant; it’s just the fact that logistically it’s far easier to be at home.

“I met the Uefa delegate, by chance last week,  who was at Pittodrie for the Dons’ tie with Faroese side NSI Runavik last month and he was full of praise for the Pittodrie setup. I believe it was his first game so I pointed out he won’t get an easier place to be a delegate.”

With six years of European campaigns under Derek McInnes, nothing will be left to chance. Director of football operations Steven Gunn and security officer Willie Beattie and the rest of the backroom team will be integral to the preparations put into place ahead of an away European game. For home games Paul Hendry as operations manager will come into that key group.

The situation at Sporting CP has complicated matters significantly. An outbreak within their squad, which has affected nine players and three staff and seen the team relocate to the Algarve to preserve a sporting bubble, has put the game in question.

Sporting CP head coach Ruben Amorim is one of those to test positive for Covid-19

A decision on whether the tie will go ahead will not be taken until the day of the game, with representatives from Uefa acquiescing to the decisions made by the regional health authorities or government. Such an instance occurred in the first qualifying round, with Slovan Bratislava forfeiting their tie with KI Klaksvik after a significant number of their squad tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival in the Faroe Islands.

“Aberdeen will do it professionally,” added Fraser. “They’ll go over, prepare for the game, the plane will be on the ground throughout their time in Lisbon and they will react professionally to any circumstances that arise. Nothing is left to chance. But clearly it’s not ideal.

“It’s just that degree of uncertainty as to what sort of team they’ll put out. But whatever team they’ll put out will be strong. Sporting are a massive club, so it’s a fantastic opportunity for the players.

“Aberdeen will be as well-prepared as they can be. Derek’s attitude will be the game is going on. There will be no deviation and they will be 100 per cent focused on the game both football and operations-wise.”