Premier League decides against circuit breaker after Covid meeting

The Premier League has decided against postponing a full round of fixtures amid Covid-19 outbreaks at several clubs.

Six of this weekend’s 10 Premier League matches were postponed on Thursday, but the league had maintained fixtures would continue “where safely possible”.

After a Premier League shareholders’ meeting on Monday, the league has decided to continue as planned with the schedule, where possible.

Meanwhile, the FA has scrapped third and fourth-round FA Cup replays this season to help reduce fixture congestion.

Some Premier League sides felt they should carry on playing where possible because there is no guarantee the situation will improve if they stop, while others felt the integrity of the competition is being threatened and believed the next round of games should have been called off.

Most Premier League clubs are due to play three times between Boxing Day and January 2 and, despite the decision to continue as planned, there are fears more games will be postponed because of rising Covid cases.

There would then be an increased workload on players who are available to play in games that go ahead, and there is also a real fear among clubs they will soon have to go back to playing games without fans.

Premier League managers and captains are also due to hold separate meetings.

The timing of decisions to call off some games so far has caused frustration, with Aston Villa’s clash with Burnley called off just over two hours before kick-off on Saturday.

Chelsea were unhappy a request to postpone Sunday’s Premier League match at Wolves, which ended 0-0, was rejected despite their seven positive cases.

Boss Thomas Tuchel said: “We were put in a huge risk of health and safety to the players, not just because of Covid but also physically. I’m not sure if I’ll catch Covid. Hopefully, I will not catch it.”

Meanwhile, the EFL, which has also been hit by a raft of postponements, says it is maintaining constant open dialogue with all clubs over the situation.

The league is also planning for all four Carabao Cup quarter-final ties to go ahead this week.

Analysis: Premier League say ‘Keep calm and carry on’

Sky Sports News’ Kaveh Solhekol:

“The Premier League clubs have decided to keep calm and carry on. The message we are getting is clubs want to carry on playing.

“It’s what we were expecting them to do. The last thing they want to do is stop football, especially over the Christmas period when there are so many games. Nearly every Premier League club is going to play three games between Boxing Day and January 2.

“The feeling is, if it’s safe to play games we should carry on playing games.

“One very senior executive at a Premier League club said to me: ‘If people are working in supermarkets, driving buses and going to work as normal, then footballers should go to work as well’.

“Footballers are human beings and health and safety is the priority. The extra workload on these players was discussed in the meeting and they’re having to work in extremely difficult conditions. We shouldn’t make light of the pressure and stress these players are under.

“The Football Association are trying to help out as well because they’re considering, just for this season, scrapping third and fourth-round replays in the FA Cup to help with fixture congestion.

“We’ve heard from a lot of managers such as Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel, saying their players cannot cope with the amount of games coming up, especially if a lot of their colleagues are going to be sidelined because of COVID.

“So those games coming up at the beginning of January will be settled on the day.”

What are the Premier League rules around postponements?

The 2021/22 Premier League handbook includes Covid protocols, and states the Premier League board will “only permit the rearrangement or postponement of a league match in exceptional circumstances”.

The board make calls on a case-by-case basis, and by way of guidance the Premier League says permission for a postponement will not be granted if a club have 14 or more players from their squad list available.

In a statement, the Premier League added it would “assess a number of factors, including the ability of a club to field a team; the status, severity and potential impact of the Covid-19 outbreak at the club; and the ability of the players to safely prepare for and play the match.

“The board must also consider the wider risks to the opposition and other people the club may come into contact with.”

Which Premier League games have been called off?

Brighton vs Tottenham – Sunday December 12, Premier League

Brentford vs Man Utd – Tuesday December 14, Premier League

Burnley vs Watford – Wednesday December 15, Premier League

Leicester vs Tottenham – Thursday December 16, Premier League

Man Utd vs Brighton – Saturday December 18, Premier League

Southampton vs Brentford – Saturday December 18, Premier League

Watford vs Crystal Palace – Saturday December 18, Premier League

West Ham vs Norwich – Saturday December 18, Premier League

Aston Villa vs Burnley – Saturday December 18, Premier League

Everton vs Leicester – Sunday December 19, Premier League

When could postponed games take place?

Tottenham, whose game at Burnley at the end of November was also postponed due to the weather, now have three games to shoehorn into their schedule.

Chelsea, currently not directly impacted by any Covid suspensions despite wanting the Wolves match to be postponed, have their own fixture pile-up to contend with due to their participation in the Club World Cup.

Chelsea could go nearly a month without playing a Premier League fixture due to the tournament in the UAE between February 3-12. Chelsea’s trip to Brighton on February 8 and the home clash with Arsenal on February 12 are set to be re-arranged, with the fixtures having to be played later in the season.