As revealed by various national news outlets this afternoon, the Premier League WILL carry on with its festive fixtures between now and the turn of the year, but it’s feared restrictions could return in January.
This comes after an ’emergency meeting’ was held between all 20 clubs earlier today, which saw EPL chiefs discuss how best to move forward after a rise in Covid cases saw SIX of 10 Premier League fixtures called off over the weekend.
So, they have agreed NOT to postpone all fixtures on Boxing Day and on December 27 – when we play Man Utd at St James’ Park – while the next set of games on December 28, 29 and 30 are also expected to go ahead.
That said, it seems clubs have been warned that games could be played behind closed doors before long if the situation continues to worsen – which may explain why the Premier League are keen to see games played with fans in stadiums while the Government allows it.
Elsewhere, the FA has also agreed to scrap third and fourth round replays in the FA Cup as a one-off to help with fixture congestion, meaning our tie with Cambridge on January 8th will be decided on the night.
With the upcoming World Cup meaning the football calendar is already congested for 2022, it seems all parties are keen to get games played while we can.
However, if cases continue to rise and the situation becomes even more serious across the country, it seems it may not be long until we’re forced to watch games from our sofa once again.
