September 18, 2025 - 2:43 AM
MONACO (AP) — Take off had a different meaning for Monaco players when they were unable to fly to Bruges as planned for a Champions League match.
The air conditioning on the plane malfunctioned and led to excessively hot conditions.
So the players took their clothes off.
Videos posted online by Monaco player Jordan Teze showed sweat-soaked players stripping down to just their underwear to deal with the heat and some fanning themselves. They then all stepped off the plane and onto the tarmac at Nice airport on Wednesday afternoon.
After Monaco decided to fly out instead on Thursday morning for safety reasons, Monaco coach Adi Hütter improvised his prematch news conference at Monaco's training center on Wednesday evening.
"For technical reasons, it was impossible to travel, as everyone's safety was not guaranteed,” he said. “I've never experienced that before, but there are some circumstances that you have no influence over. For us, it was a little bit special and not so comfortable. But we are professionals and we prepare as normal for the game."
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