TWO MORE TOP-FLIGHT MATCHES ARE CALLED OFF
MANCHESTER UNITEd’S clash with Leeds and Liverpool’s trip to Chelsea have been postponed this weekend, with police resources set to be stretched this weekend ahead of the Queen’s funeral on Monday.
Huge crowds are set to flock to London, with a monumental police operation needed in the capital and officers from forces across the country drafted in. The two high-profile matches, which would have needed a large police presence, have been called off for this reason. Brighton’s match with Crystal Palace is also off — though this was already postponed due to train strikes. Manchester United will now not play a league game until October 2 due to the international break. And the postponed fixtures might not be played until April.
MANCHESTER UNITED’s game with Leeds and Liverpool’s trip to Chelsea have been called off, with police resources stretched ahead of the Queen’s funeral.
Each club has been left with a fixture headache, with the decision made as huge crowds look set to flock to London over the coming days to pay respect.
Metropolitan Police officers will oversee a historic, large- scale operation with numbers from forces across the country — including Greater Manchester — drafted in to assist.
The two matches, which would have needed a sizeable police presence, have been postponed.
With an international break and World Cup looming in an already tight schedule, another date for each match must be found.
The Queen will lie in state from Wednesday. Vast numbers are expected to converge on Westminster Hall with Sunday in particular — the day of the postponed games and the eve of the funeral — likely to be incredibly busy.
Tottenham’s game with Leicester City on Saturday and Arsenal’s trip to Brentford on Sunday will go ahead. Both games have a lower security categorisation. The news will be welcomed by Gunners’ boss Mikel Arteta, who yesterday saw their Europa League match against PSV Eindhoven on Thursday called off. Arsenal were desperate to avoid a postponement and explored a number of options, including taking the game to the Netherlands and playing it behind closed doors, but were left with insurmountable logistics issues.
Spurs had, at one stage, looked at switching their game to Leicester but it will take place in north London as planned.
Brighton’s home game with Crystal Palace remains off, having previously been postponed due to planned rail strikes.
A Premier League spokesperson said: ‘ Following extensive consultation with clubs, police, local Safety Advisory Groups and other relevant authorities, there was no other option but to postpone the three fixtures.
‘The Premier League would like to thank the UK Football Policing Unit and other police forces across the country, as well as our broadcast partners, for their support during this process, and will continue to liaise with them ahead of the weekend. For the matches being played during the period of national mourning, tributes will be paid to the Queen at Premier League stadiums.’
Liverpool host Ajax in the Champions League tonight and the club have asked UEFA to allow a minute’s silence before kick-off as a mark of respect.
The EFL’s calendar has restarted with a large number of games to take place this evening.