London, December 21 / BNA / The English Premier League clubs agreed to continue playing the scheduled matches during the festive period despite the postponement of many matches due to the high cases of the new Corona virus, the League announced after a meeting between all the teams on Monday.
Ten Premier League matches have been postponed this month due to the outbreak amid a busy schedule as teams are scheduled to play three times between Boxing Day and January 3, Reuters reports.
The Premier League issued a statement shortly after the meeting saying that 90 new cases of COVID-19 were detected among players and staff in the past week, a significant increase from the total of 42 cases in the previous round on December 6-12.
The league said in a statement: “The safety of everyone is a priority, and the Premier League is taking all precautionary steps in light of the recent rise in cases of coronavirus infection across the country.”
Only four out of 10 matches were played over the weekend after teams reported to the Premier League that they had lost players due to COVID-19.
The Premier League only grants a reprieve if the club has fewer than 14 players available, with the board examining applications on a case-by-case basis.
The Premier League said: “While we are aware that a number of clubs are facing the outbreak and challenges of COVID-19, the collective intent of the League is to continue the current schedule of matches wherever possible.”
“A range of issues were discussed at this afternoon’s meeting, including adapting the Premier League COVID-19 postponement process in response to the impact of the Omicron variable.
The Association also confirmed to its clubs today that 92% of the players and club staff have received one, two or three doses of vaccinations against the emerging corona virus, and that 84% of the players are on the vaccination journey.
FA Cup replay scratched
The English Football Association said the replays of the FA Cup matches in the third and fourth rounds have been canceled to help end the backlog of matches after several delays.
“A draw in the third and fourth rounds of the competition this season will end on the same day, with extra time and penalties if necessary,” the FA said.
However, the English Football League (EFL), which also organizes the League Cup, said its matches would be played as scheduled.
The League Cup semi-finals are played over two matches in January. The competition’s quarter-final matches – with the participation of seven teams in the Premier League – are scheduled to be played this week.
“While the association acknowledges that there will likely be future delays to mobility as COVID-19 cases are identified, there is optimism that disruption can be reduced following implementation of RED protocols, a daily testing regimen, and ongoing vaccination,” the association said.
Trevor Burch, chief executive of the EFL, said: “We will continue to work with clubs, authorities and other agencies to monitor the rate of COVID-19 cases and prepare to respond accordingly.
“For now, the view remains that we can continue to play matches safely as clubs have enough healthy individuals on and off the pitch.”
19 games across its divisions were postponed this past weekend due to the COVID-19 outbreak.