Not only on Boxing Day, but also a few days later: The majority of Premier League clubs have spoken out against an interruption of the season. Meanwhile, a statement from the league has also followed.
In the end, the difference of opinion was so clear that it did not even require a proper vote: The 20 Premier League clubs had held a digital meeting on Monday afternoon to discuss whether to suspend fixtures for the time being.
Unlike Liverpool FC, for example, who had positioned themselves in favour of postponing matchday 20 (a few days after Boxing Day on Boxing Day), the majority of clubs opted to continue play. England’s highest division still has two match days ahead of it in the calendar year 2021 – followed by a round directly at New Year. In addition, the quarter-finals of the League Cup will be played this week (Tuesday/Wednesday), in which seven Premier League clubs and third division club Sunderland are represented.
“Collective intent” – reassess situation in two weeks
For the Premier League, where six of the ten matches had to be cancelled last weekend due to numerous Corona cases, even a cancellation of the season was still being discussed. However, no club was in favour of this – again, the main argument was the financial loss. If at least 13 fit players and a goalkeeper are available, the game will be played.
The Premier League itself then confirmed the entire decisions in the form of a statement on Monday evening. It had been “the collective intention to continue with the current fixture list wherever it is safe to do so”. To date, 92 per cent of all professional players in the league, as well as staff members, have received one, two or even three vaccinations against the corona virus. The Corona situation and its impact on clubs and the country as a whole will be reassessed in a fortnight’ time.
The whole of Great Britain recorded more than 90,000 new infections on Monday. However, it is estimated that several hundred thousand people are already infected every day. Omikron is already dominant in England and Scotland.
