(Football news) The Premier League has decided to not go ahead with the postponement of fixtures despite the rising COVID-19 cases at several clubs. Out of the 10 Premier League matches of the weekend, six were postponed last Thursday but the league has confirmed that they will maintain the fixture schedule “where safely possible” at a shareholders meeting on Monday. A record number of 90 COVID positive cases were found amongst players and staff last week and the number may rise this week.
The Premier League has also confirmed that 92% of the players and staff have received either one, two or three COVID-19 vaccines while 84% of the players are currently “on the vaccination journey” and 77% of the players have received both the doses, which is classed as fully vaccinated. In a statement released by the Premier League, they said “The league continues to work with clubs to encourage vaccination among players and club staff, as well as promoting the Government's public health vaccination messaging to clubs and the wider public.”
In the meeting conducted by Premier League shareholders on Monday, three options were discussed with option 1 being to carry on playing, option 2 was to postpone the upcoming fixtures or option 3 being to stop playing entirely. Majority of the clubs elected for option 1 while Liverpool and a few other clubs opted for option 2 while no clubs chose option 3. The Premier League has asked clubs to update them on a daily basis on the COVID test results amongst their players and staff to ensure games are not postponed at the last minute while the FA Cup has scrapped the third and fourth round replays to help reduce fixture congestion.
The EFL has confirmed that the Carabao Cup will proceed as scheduled and fixtures will take place “where it is safe to do so”. EFL chief executive Trevor Birch said: "Throughout the pandemic, our two priorities have been ensuring the welfare of those involved in EFL competitions and ensuring the fixture schedule can continue where it is safe to do so. We will continue to work with clubs, authorities and other agencies to monitor the Covid-19 case rate and be prepared to respond accordingly, yet for now the view remains that we can continue to deliver games safely where clubs have sufficient healthy personnel in place, on and off the pitch. With club mitigation measures, the mass adoption of booster jabs and Covid certification now required for larger crowds, we are sure many fans will continue to feel confident in attending matches over the Christmas period and we look forward to welcoming them."
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