PREMIER LEAGUE IS BACK
But shortage of police means games at Chelsea and Old Trafford are postponed
PREMIER League football will return this weekend following the death of the Queen, but two high-profile fixtures have been postponed after police consultation.
Football halted as a show of respect and, while it will largely return to normal in the coming days, Chelsea v Liverpool and Manchester United v Leeds have been called off.
Seven top-flight matches will take place over the weekend, with Brighton v Crystal Palace remaining off having already been postponed due to planned rail strikes.
“Following extensive consultation with clubs, police, Safety Advisory Groups and other authorities, there was no other option but to postpone the three fixtures,” a Premier League statement read.
“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.
“New dates for the postponed matches will be announced in due course.”
The kick-off times for two of Sunday’s games have also been altered, Brentford v Arsenal now starting at 12 noon rather than 2pm and Everton v West Ham starting at 2.15pm.
The news followed the postponement of Arsenal’s Europa League match against PSV
Eindhoven on Thursday, with police resources in London stretched in the build-up to the Queen’s funeral on Monday, September 19.
UEFA confirmed the tie would not now be played and that a new date for the match would be communicated in due course.
European football’s governing body said the postponement was due “to the severe limitations on police resources and organisational issues related to the ongoing events surrounding the national mourning for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II”.
Resources
Switching venues to host the game in Eindhoven had been discussed, while the option to host behind closed doors at the Emirates Stadium would still have required a level of policing.
While Chelsea’s visit of Liverpool is off, their home Champions League match against Red Bull Salzburg on
Wednesday will go ahead as planned, while the midweek EFL programme is unaffected.
In Scotland, Rangers’ Champions League tie with Napoli has been put back a day to Wednesday, September 14, due to “severe limitations on police resources”.
However, professional domestic football in the country will resume this weekend, the Scottish Football Association said on Monday. The FA of Wales said all its competitions can resume.
All EFL matches scheduled for this midweek are set to go ahead, with clubs planning to pay tribute to the Queen.
“A minute’s silence will be held before matches, with black armbands to be worn by participants, flags to be flown at half-mast and the national anthem to be played in stadiums,” the EFL said in a statement.
The English FA confirmed leagues
and competitions under its jurisdiction could resume, including the Barclays Women’s Super League and the Women’s Championship, barring any games affected by policing resource issues.
The FA also confirmed that a scheduled media conference with England manager Gareth Southgate on Thursday to announce his squad for the forthcoming Nations League matches against Italy and Germany had been cancelled out of respect for the period of national mourning.
Cancelled
The squad will still be announced as planned at 2pm that day.
In rugby, all six of this weekend’s Gallagher Premiership matches will go ahead. Senior rugby in Wales will resume, after it was cancelled last weekend.
The Scottish Rugby Union postponed all domestic competitive games last weekend, but it is also expected to resume at the weekend.
The upcoming Betfred Super League play-off semi-finals will go ahead as planned.
Wigan will play Leeds at the DW Stadium on Friday, September 16 and St Helens will face Salford at the Totally Wicked Stadium on Saturday, September 17.
A Super League statement added: “As a mark of respect to Her Majesty, the Betfred Super League Awards, which was scheduled to take place at Headingley Stadium on the evening of Monday September 19 will now take place at the same venue on Tuesday September 20.”
British horse racing is cancelled on the day of The Queen’s funeral, now a bank holiday, with meetings at Hamilton, Leicester, Warwick and Wolverhampton scheduled.
A statement from the British Horseracing Authority read: “Racing will take place throughout the rest of the intervening period.”