The Premier League could be halted as the coronavirus forces games to be canceled, and insiders are complaining of an embarrassing lack of contingency plans
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Will Martin
Dec 30, 2020, 21:24 IST
The Premier League may be paused to try to halt the spread of the coronavirus in the league.Adam Davy/Pool via AP
The English Premier League is scrambling to stop the spread of the coronavirus in the division after 18 people tested positive for the coronavirus and one game was postponed.
A game between Everton and Manchester City was scrubbed just four hours before kickoff after a COVID-19 outbreak was identified in the Manchester squad.
One manager has endorsed a "circuit breaker" pause to the league, while others remain opposed to such a step.
ESPN reported Tuesday evening that the league had no contingency plans for a major virus-related pause in play, a situation described by one insider as "embarrassing."
The UK is battling a new variant of the coronavirus, which experts believe is as much as 70% more contagious than older versions.
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The English Premier League has been thrown into turmoil by a spate of coronavirus cases, which have caused one game to be postponed and have led to fears that the season may need to be paused or even cut short.
A game between two of the league's high-flyers, Everton and Manchester City, was called off just four hours before kickoff Monday after multiple players from the Manchester squad were found to have contracted the virus.
On Wednesday, the situation worsened when another game - between Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur - was postponed because of positive cases in the Fulham squad.
Manchester City's coming game against Chelsea on Sunday and cup game against Manchester United next Wednesday are also thought to be at risk.
As games come under threat, the number of cases in and around the Premier League is rising.
On Tuesday, the UK reported 53,135 new cases of COVID-19, a single-day record, and 414 new deaths. The specific numbers could reflect lags in reporting from Christmas, but cases have been trending upward throughout December.
A 'circuit breaker' in the Premier League?
Postponement of the Everton-Manchester City game, as well as the rapid nationwide spread of the virus, has already led one manager to call for the Premier League season to be paused.
West Bromwich Albion manager Sam Allardyce, who took the job only this month, said after his side was defeated 5-0 by Leeds United on Tuesday that he would approve of a temporary halt to the season.
"If that's what we need to do, that's what we need to do."
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Allardyce said that while most players would most likely overcome the virus, he might fare differently.
"I am 66 years old, and the last thing I want to do is catch COVID," he said. "All the players will overcome it, but it will be more difficult for me if I caught it."
Several other managers in the league - including Marcelo Bielsa of Leeds, and Carlo Ancelotti of Everton - are over 60, while Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson is in his 70s, putting them all at greater risk of more severe illness.
"The Premier League does not have a plan in place for a curtailment of the 2020-21 season if an escalation in positive COVID-19 tests leads to the campaign being halted," ESPN's Mark Ogden wrote Tuesday evening.
Ogden added that one source at a Premier League club described the lack of such a plan as "embarrassing."
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