Ipswich Town were scheduled to play Borussia Monchengladbach in a friendly between their first teams today.
For the Bundesliga club it was a chance to face some top level opposition after going through their training camp, a key match as they prepare for the start of the season. Then, on Thursday evening, Ipswich Town announced they would be sending their U21 side instead.
The club released a statement saying: ‘The game with Gladbach in Heimstetten will now be contested by our U21 side, giving the Town youngsters an opportunity to test themselves against strong opposition as part of their own pre-season.
‘The Town first-team will then face Hoffenheim in Kufstein on Saturday as planned, allowing the majority of Kieran McKenna’s squad to play significant minutes as a unit with two weeks to go before the start of the Premier League season.’
At this late stage it’s proved impossible for Gladbach to find another match against top level opponents, so they had to make the best of things and play against the youngsters, winning 3-1.
Roland Virkus, a director at the German club, spoke prior to the match about how angry it’s left the club.
Afterwards he spoke again, and Bild quote him as saying: “They have explained that the professionals cannot play because they have so many injuries. Ipswich has a double matchday and is playing against Hoffenheim on Saturday. We are extremely disappointed. In this business you have to be able to rely on agreements. For us, this is the end of a successful training camp, so it is important to have a good opponent. Apparently Ipswich still have a lot to learn. That annoys us.”
For comments between football clubs those are very strong indeed and underline the annoyance clearly felt at Borussia Monchengladbach.
Fans who had bought tickets for the game received a full refund and others were allowed to enter for free.
