Even after another game has been postponed due to the corona virus, the English Premier League does not want to interrupt the season. “The Premier League has not discussed a break in the season and has no plans to do so,” said England’s top football league on Wednesday.
“The league continues to have faith in its Covid-19 protocols to go through the games as planned and these protocols have the full support of the government,” the statement said. The health of players and team members was a priority, the league supported how the clubs would implement the protocols.
Due to several coronavirus infections at Fulham FC, the London derby planned for Wednesday evening at hosts Tottenham Hotspur had to be postponed. Fulham asked for the relocation, the Spurs said, because several coronavirus cases had occurred in the team among professionals and in the support staff. On Monday, Manchester City’s game at Everton was canceled at short notice due to a coronavirus outbreak among the guests.
Demands for an interruption of the season
Previously, coach Sam Allardyce from the first division West Bromwich Albion had spoken out in favor of a season break in view of the increasing number of CoV cases. “Everyone’s safety is more important than anything else,” said the 66-year-old after his team’s 5-0 loss to Leeds United on Tuesday. “When I hear that the new variant of the virus is being transmitted faster than the original, we can only do the right thing, namely break the cycle.”
The English Premier League had registered the highest number of coronavirus cases in the 20 upper house clubs since the start of the weekly test series at the end of August. As the league officially announced on Tuesday, a total of 18 players or members of the support teams infected with the corona virus were identified in 1,479 tests between December 21 and 27.
