Premier League teams will meet to discuss a possible season closure during the holidays as Covid continues to cause havoc, resulting in a slew of postponements.
According to rumors, Premier League clubs will meet to consider a possible shutdown over the holiday season to combat the spread of Covid.
Outbreaks have impacted teams all around the country as the new variation wreaks havoc.
As a result, a slew of games have been canceled, including half of this weekend’s match after many midweek games were also canceled due to the same issue.
The Premier League has refused to put the season on hold.
They stated that it “considers (postponement) requests on a case-by-case basis” and that decisions are made “in accordance with existing rules and Covid-19 postponement instructions supplied to all clubs.”
However, according to The Times, Premier League executives will meet on Monday to explore a potential circuit breaker, despite reiterating their commitment to honoring all scheduled matches.
Five Premier League matches have been postponed this weekend, and clubs are debating a firebreak.
To fight the Covid-19 outbreak in Premier League squads, clubs are pressing for a festive firebreak.
In total, nine matches have been postponed owing to the recent epidemic, with Tottenham’s match against Brighton on December 12 being the first.
The Premier League would not begin until the weekend of January 15, resulting in at least three rounds of matches being missed, with a number of clubs already playing catch-up after multiple postponements.
Manchester United have nine senior players available for the Brentford fixture on Tuesday night, and seven for the Brighton meeting on Saturday.
United is thought to have a low percentage of players who have had two vaccinations. Since October, when it announced that 68 percent of players had been vaccinated, the Premier League has not disclosed any data on vaccine uptake by players.
In the same month, it was revealed that 98 percent of players and staff in Serie A and 94 percent in the Bundesliga had been vaccinated. 93 percent of La Liga players and staff are fully vaccinated.
Five Premier League matches were already postponed for the weekend, even Aston Villa vs. Burnley was postponed a few minutes to kick-off, but Leeds vs. Arsenal, Wolves vs. Chelsea, Newcastle vs. Manchester City, and Tottenham vs. Liverpool were all played regardless.
The Premier League has stated that it will continue to stage matches when it is considered safe to do so and has reinstated emergency protocol.
Premier League clubs’ winter holidays in January and February would almost probably be ruined by the thought of fulfilling postponed fixtures.
The current Premier League season will end on May 22nd, and the football calendar for next year is already jam-packed with events leading up to the winter World Cup in Qatar, which will begin on November 21.
The final will be held on December 18, and the 2022-23 Premier League season will begin on Boxing Day.
All of this weekend’s Premier League matches should be postponed, according to Brentford manager Thomas Frank. Brentford’s Saturday match against Southampton had already been canceled.
“We believe the entire round of Premier League games should be postponed this weekend,” Frank stated.
“Covid cases are at an all-time high at all Premier League clubs; everyone is dealing with it and experiencing issues.”
“Postponing this round, as well as the Carabao Cup round (next week), would give everyone at least a week, if not four or five days, to clean and prepare the training area so that everything is in order and the chain is broken.”
However, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who has been a vocal supporter of vaccinations for players, is not on board.
He said: “Stopping the league is probably not the right thing but with the schedule, we have to be more flexible.
“So far football kept it pretty much outside with the testing regimes, the massive disciplinary things for the boys did really well, but this time it is really difficult.”
I don’t see the point of [stopping the Premier League] since when we return, everything is still the same.
