Premier League clubs have rejected the idea of postponing Christmas matches, despite clubs struggling to fulfil their fixtures because of Covid.
Senior representatives of the top flight’s 20 clubs met with league officials today to consider their latest response to the pandemic, which is now being fuelled by the ultra-infectious Omicron variant.
A short pause, dubbed a ‘festive firebreak, which would have involved postponing a round of fixtures from December 28 to 30, was one of the options under discussion.
The meeting was hastily arranged at the end of last week and came after six of the 10 Premier League fixtures this weekend were postponed following outbreaks for Covid. In total, 10 top-flight matches have been lost to Covid.
However, despite some managers speaking out in support of a break, the majority of club’s have backed the league position and rejected the idea, at least for now.
Sportsmail understands that the desire is to carry on and try and battle through without an enforced break.
At the meeting clubs have been told that the FA have agreed to scrap replays for FA Cup rounds three and four.
For a break to come into force it would have needed the support of at least 14 of the 20 top flight sides.
The Premier League is in a relatively vulnerable position since the most recent figures (from October) suggest only 68 per cent of players are double vaccinate, the lowest proportion of the major leagues in Europe.
Since two jabs and a booster are need for significant protection against Omicron the chance of the variant spreading once it has penetrated a club’s bubble is increased.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank proposed the idea last week in order ‘break the chain’ of infection in clubs after the Bees home game Manchester United was postponed.
United only had seven players available after an extensive outbreak, which led to the closure of their training ground.
And Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has suggested the season as it stands is ‘on a knife-edge’ and raised the possibility of a pause if it avoided some clubs falling behind in the number of games played, which could impact on the competition.
‘I don’t think we want half the games played and half not played,’ Howe said his side lost 4-0 at home to Manchester City. ‘The league really loses something if it becomes disjointed in terms of games played. When you start losing players to Covid then the worry is the competition becomes slightly unfair and I don’t think anyone wants to see that.
‘A decision needs to be made to ensure integrity is maintained in the competition. I think it is on a knife-edge.
City manager manager Pep Guardiola said the problem was much bigger than football, but indicated his club would support the Premier League’s position.
Burnley’s Sean Dyche last week questioned the value of a break, given the high levels of infection in the community, which pose an ongoing threat to footballers, just like everyone else. And Steve Parish, the Crystal Palace chairman, supported the continuation of the league.
Public health experts have also told Sportsmail that while Covid – and the Omicron variant – are spreading so rapidly in society a break will be of little value.
When the clubs resume after the break they will face the same challenge of positive cases and postponed matches until the peak of community infections has passed towards the end of January.
Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in public health at the University of East Anglia, said if he ran football he would brace for a chaotic six weeks, but continue.
However, the issue of how to manage outbreaks of Covid – for both players and fans – remains a live one and was also the subject of discussion at the emergency meeting.
Chelsea manager Tomas Tuchel expressed his disappointment after his Covid-hit side drew 0-0 against Wolves at Molineux. Tuchel said he was ‘angry’ after the Premier League turned down Chelsea’s request to postpone the game.
Consequently, the Blues named just four outfield players on the bench at Molineux. The first XI was competitive but they struggled to create chances as the Blues mini-slump continued.
Tuchel said the health and safety of players is being put at “huge risk” by asking them to carry on playing amid rising cases of Covid-19
‘If we have tomorrow the next test and the next positive, I would like to speak to the people from the Premier League what they expect, what they expect it to be,’ he said. ‘Shall we stop and not arrive in the next game if we are made to play? ‘
‘I am worried from a medical point of view, we have had four days of consecutive tests,’ said Tuchel before the game. ‘How will it stop if we are in a bus together and in meetings? We are disappointed, we are a bit angry.’
Jurgen Klopp has also said that clubs will ‘need help’ if they are to play on.
Under the Premier League’s rules, set out in Appendix 17 of the Premier League’s handbook, clubs will be expected to play if they have 14 players or mire available.
The clubs are expected to consider all players, including U21s, who have experience of the Premier League or EFL.
Medical opinion will also be taken into account and a game can be called off if an outbreak is considered uncontrolled and could spread rapidly to other members of the squad.
Players and staff are now tested every day, using lateral flow tests, at Premier League clubs. In addition, they are tested one day before a match, but these results are only returned on the morning of a game.
This has led some matches to be postponed at very short notice.
Watford’s match at Burnley on Wednesday night and the Clarets’ trip to Aston Villa on Saturday, were called off little more than two hours before kick off.
In each case, away fans were well into their journeys and had incurred significant expense, in addition to the ticket price.
Meanwhile, there have been 19 games postponed in the EFL. The league has stepped up its efforts to manage Covid, moving to a ‘red protocol’ last week, which brings in daily lateral flow tests and more social distancing. The EFL revealed last week that 25 per cent of players had not been jabbed at all and had no intention of taking the vaccine.