Several Premier League clubs have had Covid-19 postponement requests denied as Omicron confusion spreads throughout top-flight football.
Multiple managers have expressed uncertainty around what the Premier League board, who rule on match postponements, consider enough impact on a squad to force a game to be rescheduled.
Tottenham and Manchester United had league games postponed due to outbreaks of the virus and Norwich manager Dean Smith said that his team, who recently played both clubs, were unsure whether they should have played Aston Villa on Tuesday night.
Norwich, Aston Villa and Brighton have all revealed that Covid outbreaks have impacted their preparations, while Burnley’s game against Watford was called off on Wednesday less than three hours before kick-off. Spurs and Leicester both requested their game on Thursday night to be postponed, but will play as scheduled.
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This week, the Premier League recorded 42 cases of Covid-19 at clubs — the highest total since they began making the data public in January.
Smith explained that Norwich had some symptomatic players missing in their defeat to Villa and that “we probably need a magic number telling us how many is enough”. The managers of Arsenal and Brentford, Mikel Arteta and Thomas Frank have also admitted to similar confusion.
However, representatives from all 20 Premier League clubs voted on the emergency Covid measures introduced to tackle the Omicron variant spread and information has been circulated to them all explaining that as long as 14 players are available a match will be played.
If what is deemed an uncontrollable outbreak hits a club — forcing a training ground to be closed so that players are unable to prepare properly for a game — the Premier League board could also rule that a game be moved. Requests are being dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and some have already been rejected.
As restrictions tighten across the country the Premier League is reacting in order to ensure top-flight football is able to continue operating. Currently, there are no limits to stadium capacity — as in previous lockdowns — but tighter controls will include at least one in five fans being spot-checked on entry and those unable to show proof of NHS vaccination status or a negative lateral flow test being denied admittance. Fans are also being urged not to attend matches if they display any symptoms of coronavirus.
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The government is attempting to tackle the spread of Omicron via booster jabs, but as a collective Premier League players have been slow to have even one vaccine dose. In some instances struggling Premier League clubs have called on deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam to visit the training ground to convince players to get jabbed.
In October, the Premier League revealed that 68 per cent of players were fully-vaccinated and that 81 per cent had had one jab. The league has not provided updated data since then.
Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager, said on Wednesday: “The whole vaccination thing is a massive question of loyalty, solidarity and togetherness We have a chance to help not only ourselves but other people as well.
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“I [arrive] earlier on the training ground than most of the players and am tested before the players arrive. When it’s negative, we are allowed to enter. We are like the whole world, concerned about it, and we do what we can.”
Several managers have said they will discuss whether to consider vaccination status when signing players in the January transfer window, including Villa manager Steven Gerrard, Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira and Newcastle United manager Howe.
Furthermore, Klopp called for clubs to stop hiding which players have Covid. “Come on, just say it, then people understand why you can’t play,” he said. Adding that “a bit more transparency would be helpful” in preparing for matches.
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While the Premier League is confident it will be able to handle a rise in infections, as it continued on through previous lockdowns, the highly-transmissible Omicron variant could prove challenging.
Too many postponed games would cause a fixture pile-up leaving some, but little, wiggle room to fit in all games to complete the season. The mid-season World Cup in Qatar next year places added time pressure on this season being concluded.
Players have been asked to be extra vigilant over the Christmas period to minimise the risk of catching the virus and spreading it around their club.
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