'No big deal' - Eddie Howe speaks out on Newcastle breaking UEFA rules after seeing flight to Milan for Champions League opener delayed due to storm in Italy

Eddie Howe said Newcastle's late arrival in Milan was «no big deal», despite the club inadvertently breaking UEFA rules.

WHAT HAPPENED? The Newcastle manager was scheduled to interact with the media in a pre-match conference at 7pm local time on Monday ahead of their Champions League opener against AC Milan, but instead, it started at 9 pm in San Siro. Just before Newcastle's original flight to Italy was due to take off at 5pm, a storm swept through Milan which forced their flight to be delayed.

WHAT THEY SAID: Upon arriving at San Siro, Howe told reporters: «It's just part and parcel of the job that we do. It's not out of the normal that that can happen. This was a weather problem, but we've been in similar situations. It's something we're used to, although it's a slightly later arrival time than we would have liked for the players. It's no big deal, though.»

THE BIGGER PICTURE: As per UEFA rules, a pre-match press conference has to be conducted tjhe day before each match, between 12 pm and 8 pm. Howe's press conference started at 9pm, one hour past the stipulated time period, and two hours after the time that was originally allocated to the Magpies, meaning Newcastle could now face a UEFA probe.

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WHAT NEXT? Newcastle United are back in the Champions League after a 20 year absence and will face AC Milan in their opening game on Tuesday. They also have Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund in their group.