The Premier League is mired in chaos amid a rash of Covid postponements on the eve of its busiest period. But what exactly is going on in England’s top football tier?
What has been canceled and why?
With just a week to spare until the packed Christmas and New Year calendar which helps make the English top flight the most popular football league in the world, the spread of Covid and the Omicron variant in the UK is causing matches to be scrapped with rampant outbreaks at clubs including Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City.
Spurs were said to have 15 positive cases which recently caused the suspension of a UEFA Conference clash with Rennes, while a match with Leicester on Thursday had to be shelved as their manager Brendan Rodgers included positive cases in a group of 11 players out with Covid, illness or injury.
The Premier League has revealed that there were 42 recorded positive Covid tests between December 6 and 12 – a record since case numbers began to be released last year.
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Just this weekend alone, there have been six fixtures put on ice, causing Match of the Day host Gary Lineker to poke fun at his popular primetime highlights program having just one game – Leeds United versus Arsenal – to show on Saturday evening.
At least there will be no disputes over its running order. But up until now, four other games have been postponed bringing the tally to 10 in total.
The @BBCMOTD running order: Leeds United v Arsenal. Surely no one disagrees this week….then again, it is Twitter.