Published 11:59 8 May 2024 GMT+1

Club Brugge's UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final tie against Fiorentina is being played a day early, and the reason why is bizarre.

This week sees the conclusions of the semi-finals of the three European cup competitions; the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.

On Tuesday Borussia Dortmund beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 to each the Champions League final, and on Wednesday Bayern Munich and Real Madrid will fight to join them.

As is the case throughout the season, the other two competitions are consigned to Thursday evening - except for one match.

The second leg of the Conference League semi-final tie between Club Brugge and Fiorentina has been brought forward 24 hours to Wednesday, and at first glance there is no obvious reason why.

Matches can be rescheduled due to multiple matches occurring in the same city, but that isn't the case here.

In an unusual set of circumstances, the match has been moved forward to 18:45 CEST due to a catholic procession that will take place in Bruges on Thursday.

On Thursday the Procession of the Holy Blood will pass through the streets of the Belgian city. The event takes place every year on Ascension Day, which this year falls on May 9.

The procession was recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2009.

Conference League matches are usually played on Thursdays, but UEFA made an exception after Club Brugge requested the rescheduling weeks ago.

Club Brugge will look to overturn a 3-2 first leg deficit against the Italian side in order to reach a European final for the first time since 1978.

The first leg in Florence last week appeared to be heading for a 2-2 draw before M'Bala Nzola scored in injury-time to give the Italian side the advantage heading into the return fixture.

Club Brugge will be without Nigerian midfielder Raphael Onyedika after he was sent off in Italy.

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