Stoppage in the Premier League?

In four days, five Premier matches have been suspended. First it was Tottenham-Brighton, last Sunday, then Brentford-Manchester United on Tuesday, then Burnley-Watford, a decision that was confirmed that same Wednesday, just three hours before the start of the match, and finally this Thursday it was known Leicester-Tottenham and Manchester United-Brighton will not be played either.

With the arrival of the Omicron variant, more contagious than the previous ones, COVID-19 cases are growing in the United Kingdom. Also in the world of football, with up to 19 cases detected among Manchester United players and coaching staff. Tottenham started the week with only thirteen players available from the first team.

As the British government once again takes more restrictive measures to slow the spread of the virus, The Premier League increased the number of tests and controls at stadium entrances, but several coaches are calling for more measures. Thomas Frank, the Brentford coach asks to suspend the weekend and the week-long round of the League Cup: “We are all having problems right now. Postponing the next day of the Premier League and the Carabao Cup would give everyone a week to clean up and do everything necessary in the training fields to break this chain of infections in each club “.

Criticism and expectation

Frank was interrupted during the press conference on Thursday morning, when they explained that they had been detected four more positive cases in its workforce, increasing the number of infected to 13. “We want to continue, but if we did that we would not have a problem with Boxing Day, for sure. We think it would be the most sensible thing to do.” Boxing Day is December 26, the day after Christmas. A public holiday in England, with soccer games scheduled across the country.

Graham Potter, Brighton manager, admitted to asking for the suspension of the match they lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday, and questioned the viability of continuing to play matches in these circumstances. “All you can do is make your case, talk to people and they will make a decision. If we go down this path, I’m not sure how long we will hold out. We all want football to continue, for life to continue in the best possible way, but health is the most important thing. This week has been complicated by the speed with which we have been affected “.

Klopp, hot

Brendan Rodgers, Leicester City coach, accused the Premier League of showing preferences towards his team’s rivals, and being swayed by television stations after his proposal to postpone Thursday night’s game against Tottenham was rejected. Jürgen Klopp, from Liverpool, asked for transparency when it comes to knowing the positive cases of each club. “I think it would be quite useful to know what the situation is,” explained the German at his press conference on Tuesday. “I don’t understand why we are not more open. There are a lot of people getting infected right now, it is what there is. If I got infected, although we hope not, I would have no problem telling that I have it“.

“Let it be said, so everyone will understand why you can’t play. I would like it to be like that, but I don’t know if it’s possible from a legal point of view. It would be useful. We have no idea. We play Tottenham on Sunday and we don’t know which players will be available. I don’t think anyone should hide. “