Investigation into postponed Crewe fixture
THE EFL have confirmed they will look into the circumstances surrounding the postponement of Crewe Alexandra’s League One fixture against Oxford United. Crewe notified the EFL they were unable to fulfil their fixture against the U’s following a positive coronavirus test in their camp.
The situation draws parallels with that at Grimsby Town, who postponed three of their fixtures after their squad went into selfisolation following Jock Curran’s positive test.
The Mariners are currently under investigation by the EFL, who have not put a time limit as to how long the inquiry will last. Upon announcing the postponement of Crewe’s game on Saturday though, there was no mention of an investigation from the Football League, raising eyebrows from some Town fans. According to the Oxford Mail though, the EFL have now confirmed that they will be following up on the weekend’s postponement as a routine matter.
Only after the preliminary questions will it be decided if a formal investigation should take place.
Unlike the Mariners, who called off their game against Cheltenham the day before the fixture was due to go ahead, Crewe’s fixture was postponed after they had already arrived at the Kassam Stadium.
There does not appear to be any guidance in the EFL’s guidelines as to how quickly a club must inform their opposition of a positive test, suggesting Crewe have not broken any rules.
It is thought the decision to not play the game was taken by Oxford, who did not want to risk their own players’ health. Speaking to BBC Radio Stoke, Crewe boss David Artell said: “Oxford, probably quite rightly said we don’t want to expose our players to that, which is fully understandable, because they don’t know how many are infected on our bus.
“The EFL were saying they couldn’t call the game off, we had to.
“My understanding is there won’t be any sanctions for us as a club, or Oxford for taking the stance they’ve taken. I think it’s a sensible decision.
“I think it’s a reflection of what happens if you don’t test.
“I’d like to think I’ve done the right thing morally, because I could have quite easily have played - and infected lots of Oxford players to make them potentially weaker for next week. I don’t want to do that.
“I think there’s a greater good that has to come about over and above football.
“It’s not natural because football is everything to a lot of us.
“I think it was the right thing to do. It’s a sensible decision all round. Why would we want to bring it to another part of the country?
“We’ve followed all the guidelines - the temperature checks, the social distancing, the hand washing.
“We know we’re Covid-secure, but the disease is highly infectious.”