Aston Villa, with several cases of covid in its squad and in its technical team, obtained this Monday the postponement of its match against Tottenham, scheduled for Wednesday, on the 18th day, announced the Premier League.
«Following Aston Villa’s request to reschedule the game (against Tottenham) and due to the number of players and members of the technical team who tested positive for COVID-19 or were quarantined by the club, the Premier League has no other choice to postpone the game, “says the statement.
This weekend, for its 30th-finals match of the English Cup against Liverpool, lost 4-1, Aston Villa had to send in its reserve team made up of young players, as nine footballers and 5 members of the technical team they had been infected.
“The (Premier) League will continue to work with Aston Villa on measures that will allow their season to resume in full safety and for as long as possible,” added the Premier League.
This postponement will further complicate an already heavily altered schedule.
Before this, the English championship had eight backward games: 2 from the first match, which must be played in parallel to matchday 18, which takes place from January 12 to 21, with the 19th interleaved from January 15 to 18, and 6 due to the resurgence of the covid epidemic in Great Britain.
The Premier League has already decided that Tottenham, still in contention in both national cups and in the Europa League, will finally face Fulham on Wednesday, resulting in a game originally scheduled for December 30, but postponed due to because this last team had several cases of covid.
Therefore, the Fulham-Chelsea match, scheduled for January 15, on matchday 19, is delayed to 16, the Premier says.
The match between Aston Villa and Everton, on January 16, has been postponed to January 17.
The Premier League and the 20 clubs that are part of it recently opted for a twice weekly check, due to the multiplication of cases in English football, while anti-covid protocols in clubs and around matches have been reinforced. AFP (HN).