Champion League

Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen will play their Champions League Group D match on Thursday (14:00 GMT) after heavy fog on Wednesday led to the fixture being postponed for the second time.

But neither club were happy with UEFA's insistence this time round on enforcing the rule that Champions League games must be replayed the next day.

The game was originally scheduled to be played on November 21 but was put back a week after dense fog descended on the Delle Alpi stadium.

Those scenes were repeated on Wednesday to the surprise of locals who said their had been no weather problems in the week between the two attempts to play the match.

Bundesliga leaders Bayer, who have to travel 80 kilometres to a hotel outside Turin and face a league match against Werder Bremen on Saturday, had wanted to replay the match on January 30.

"This is not a professional decision," Bayer manager Wolfgang Holtzhauser told reporters, "UEFA wanted this but neither club wanted to play tomorrow."

A UEFA spokesman said that one of the factors that ruled out waiting until the New Year was that a new registration list for players would come into effect then which could alter the two squads.

But Juventus vice-president Roberto Bettega said that was not reason enough for the decision.

"We could have agreed to play with the old lists," said Bettega.

"It is clear things are complicated with the league match against Perugia on Saturday and then the trip to London to face Arsenal on Tuesday. But Bayer have the same problem."

Bettega said that prior to last week no games at the Delle Alpi had ever been postponed due to fog. Juventus have used the stadium since 1990.