Tottenham have been kicked out of Europa despite trying to play on successive days to clear their outstanding match against Rennes.
Spurs were prepared to face Rennes on Monday, just 24 hours after playing Liverpool in the Premier.
But the alternative date was one of a number rejected by the Ligue 1 side, who played on Saturday and are in action for the final time before their winter break on Wednesday.
And their awarding of a 3-0 win for Rennes condemned Spurs to a third-place finish in Group G and has seen them miss out on a spot in the knockout round.
Rennes’ trip to Spurs on December 9 was postponed following a Covid outbreak among Spurs and they have been left disappointed given how they tried to rearrange the fixture but none of their proposals were deemed satisfactory by Rennes.
A UEFA statement said: ‘Following several positive cases of COVID-19 from players and staff of Tottenham Hotspur FC, the 2021/22 UEFA Europa Conference League group stage match between Tottenham and Stade Rennes – scheduled to be played on 9 December 2021 in London, United Kingdom – could not be played.
‘The matter was submitted to the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body, for a decision to be taken in accordance with Annex J of the Regulations of the UEFA Europa Conference League (2021/22 Season).
‘Based on the Article 30 (4) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations and given the urgent circumstances of the matter, the ad-hoc chairman of the Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body referred the case to the Appeals Body.
‘The Chairman of the Uefa Appeals Body took the following decision: To declare the 2021/22 Uefa Europa Conference League group stage match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Stade Rennais FC, that was initially scheduled to be played on 9 December 2021, as forfeited by Tottenham Hotspur FC.
Therefore, they are deemed to have lost the match 0-3 in accordance with Annex J.3.1 to the Regulations of the Uefa Europa Conference League (2021/22 Season).’
