Arsenal and Wolves are the latest sides to fall foul of the Covid-19 outbreak after it emerged their fixture on 28 December is set to be postponed in a addition to a trio of Boxing Day games.
The Premier League insist that there are no plans to interrupt the fixture schedule despite three games being called off on 26 December and further interruptions later in the week.
Liverpool vs Leeds, which was due to be televised live on Sky Sports, and Wolves vs Watford will have to be rescheduled for a later point in the season, Burnley vs Everton was called off, bringing the number of postponements in the division due to coronavirus up to 14 already this season.
It was then confirmed late on Boxing Day that Wolves would not be able to make the trip to the Emirates two days later.
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Last weekend, Aston Villa’s game against Burnley was cancelled just over two hours before kick-off due to a rise in positive tests at the Midlands club on the morning of the game. It was the sixth game called off due to Covid in that round of fixtures. Leeds’ match against Arsenal was the only fixture played on Saturday.
Chelsea had a request to postpone their match against Wolves on Sunday denied by the Premier League. Crystal Palace suffered the same fate on Boxing Day, when their attempts to postpone a trip to Tottenham were rebuffed.
Increasingly, questions are being asked about the viability of persisting with the December schedule given how many games are being called off at short notice. Yet the Premier League said in a statement that “it is the league’s intention to continue its current fixture schedule where safely possible”.
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Why Premier League clubs decided against a Covid ‘firebreak’ despite fears of more disruption20 December, 2021That comes despite fans being advised to consider carefully whether they should be attending matches.
Dr Nikki Kanani, medical director of primary care for NHS England, said: “My advice would be, if you’re going to go to a stadium at the weekend, make it one where you can get your vaccine or help out to give a vaccine, rather than going to watch a match.”
Chris Whitty, the UK’s Chief Medical Officer, said it was “very sensible” for fans to “prioritise the social interactions that mean a lot to them” and to “de-prioritise ones that mean much less to them”.
Postponed Premier League games
The full list of games postponed due to Covid so far, in order of when they were called off:
- Brighton vs Tottenham
- Brentford vs Man Utd
- Burnley vs Watford
- Leicester vs Tottenham
- Man Utd vs Brighton
- Southampton vs Brentford
- Watford vs Crystal Palace
- West Ham vs Norwich
- Everton vs Leicester
- Aston Villa vs Burnley
- Liverpool vs Leeds
- Wolves vs Watford
- Everton vs Burnley
- Leeds vs Aston Villa
- Arsenal vs Wolves
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However, clubs now face a backlog of games later on in the season and it is yet to be confirmed when the above games will take place.
Analysis: It’s time to suspend the Premier League
By Daniel Storey, i chief football writer
The firebreak makes sense. Brentford manager Thomas Frank is the first to publicly call for one and there’s little doubt other Premier League managers privately support his suggestion.
But the league’s governing body must use that period to construct a detailed, documented plan that provides greater clarity to clubs and supporters over the management of Covid-affected fixtures.
If we’ve learned anything from the last 20 months it’s that this problem isn’t going away anytime soon.
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