Games in the Premier League will take place during the Christmas period where possible, the league reports in a statement. Football is traditionally played in England around the holidays, but due to the increasing infection figures and the emergence of the omikron variant of the corona virus, there were doubts about this. Six matches have already been canceled in the last round, but there will be no overall competition stop.
Several clubs are ravaged by corona outbreaks. Clubs that did take action last weekend also had to miss players due to positive tests. The 20 Premier League clubs met on Monday for consultations and the outcome is that the playing schedule remains unchanged. From Sunday, December 26 to Monday, January 3, football will be played in the Premier League every day. This is followed by a short winter break of two weeks. The postponement of part of the program was taken into account, but that does not seem to be happening.
However, it has been decided not to play replays in the third and fourth round of the FA Cup. Normally a draw results in a second decider match, but to limit the burden, an extension and, if necessary, a penalty shootout is opted for. The third round will be played on January 7, 8, 9 and 10; the fourth round on and around 5 February. The FA reports that replays will resume from the 2022/23 season. As it looks now, the public will also remain welcome in the stadiums. In England, the stadiums can still be completely filled, although the spectators present must show a corona ticket.
The Premier League is also coming out with new figures about the vaccination status at the clubs. Of all players and staffers, 92 percent have had at least one shot; if only players are considered, it is 84 percent. At the moment, sixteen percent of the players are unvaccinated. By October 15, 81 percent of players had had one jab, so there’s only been a 3 percent increase since then. The Premier League will provide an update on vaccination coverage in the competition at the end of each month from January.
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