A COVID-19 outbreak at Everton has forced the postponement of the club’s match against Burnley today, the Premier League said on Friday.
It is the third match of the Boxing Day lineup to be postponed as part of a program that still features six games.
Defending champions and league leaders Manchester City are to host 2016 winners Leicester City among the six games scheduled to go ahead.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The Premier League has now called off 13 matches because of COVID-19 issues in two weeks, with players having to isolate after testing positive or if they are unvaccinated and a close contact of a COVID-19 case.
Everton had asked for the postponement, citing virus cases and injuries, and the league’s board “regrettably approved” the request.
“The board reviewed the club’s request today to postpone the match following further injuries to their squad,” the league said in a statement. “They concluded that the club will not be able to fulfill their fixture this weekend as a result of an insufficient number of players available to play due to COVD-19 cases and injuries.”
On Thursday, outbreaks at Leeds United and Watford forced postponements of their matches today.
Leeds were scheduled to travel to Liverpool, while Watford were to play Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“While recognizing a number of clubs are experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, it is the clubs’ and the league’s collective intention to continue the current fixture schedule where safely possible,” the league said.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte described Thursday’s virtual meeting between the Premier League and the bosses of the 20 top-flight teams a waste of time.
“If I have to be honest, it was a meeting that we tried to speak and some coaches tried to speak, to ask about solutions, but I think everything was decided,” Conte said.
Asked if it was a waste of time, the Italian added: “I think so. Because when you have a wall in front of you, you can speak and ask what you want, but every decision was [already] taken.”
Tottenham are to host Crystal Palace today.
Palace coach Patrick Vieira is hopeful that his team will be able to play, but said there are “a couple of cases” of COVID-19 at the club.
He did not give more details.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
Top seeded Jessica Pegula on Friday once again fought back from a set down to reach the WTA Charleston Open semi-finals with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win against Russia’s Diana Shnaider. Defending champion Pegula has lost the first set in all three of her matches at the tournament so far, but again dug deep to maintain her hopes of retaining the title. The world No. 5 from the US took 2 hours, 10 minutes to defeat 19th-ranked Shnaider, relying on a formidable service game that included eight aces. Shnaider battled well in the first two sets and broke early for a 2-0 lead
RSS