Coronavirus: Seagulls Match And Four Other Premier League Games Postponed This weekend

Five Premier League games due to take place this weekend have been postponed because of Covid-19 outbreaks.

Following the announcement on Thursday morning that Manchester United's game against Brighton on Saturday was off, the Premier League later confirmed four more fixtures would be postponed:

• Southampton vs Brentford - Saturday December 18, 3pm
• Watford v Crystal Palace - Saturday December 18, 3pm
• West Ham United vs Norwich City - Saturday December 18, 3pm
• Everton vs Leicester City - Sunday December 19, 12pm

It means five of the 10 matches scheduled for the weekend have been scratched from the schedule with the only games set to take place on Saturday now being Aston Villa's home game against Burnley and Leeds vs Arsenal.

Premier League resisting calls to halt schedule

Despite the postponements, the Premier League is still resisting a complete suspension of the weekend programme and said in a statement: "All other fixtures due to be played this weekend are currently scheduled to proceed as planned."

It added it would continue to evaluate applications for postponements on a "case-by-case basis".

However, emergency measures, including more frequent testing, wearing face coverings while indoors, observing social distancing, and limiting treatment time, have been reintroduced.

The Premier League's stance came just hours after Brentford head coach Thomas Frank called on the Premier League to suspend this weekend's round of fixtures, with several top-flight clubs struggling to contain Covid-19 outbreaks as the highly-transmissible Omicron variant spreads across the country.

Watford's visit to Burnley and Leicester's home match against Tottenham have also been called off this week.

What are the Premier League rules around postponements?

The 2021/22 Premier League handbook includes Covid protocols, and states the Premier League board will "only permit the rearrangement or postponement of a league match in exceptional circumstances".

The board make calls on a case-by-case basis, and, by way of guidance, the Premier League says permission for a postponement will not be granted if a club have 14 or more players from their squad list available.

In a statement, the Premier League added it would "assess a number of factors, including the ability of a club to field a team; the status, severity and potential impact of the Covid-19 outbreak at the club; and the ability of the players to safely prepare for and play the match.

"The Board must also consider the wider risks to the opposition and other people the club may come into contact with."

Covid cancellations: Which PL games have been called off?

Brighton vs Tottenham - Sunday, December 12

Brentford vs Man Utd - Tuesday, December 14

Burnley vs Watford - Wednesday, December 15

Leicester vs Tottenham - Thursday, December 16

Man Utd vs Brighton - Saturday, December 18

Southampton vs Brentford - Saturday, December 18

Watford vs Crystal Palace - Saturday, December 18

West Ham vs Norwich - Saturday, December 18

Everton vs Leicester - Sunday, December 19

Meanwhile Brighton & Hove Albion deputy chairman and chief executive Paul Barber has thanked fans and club staff for their assistance with the new Covid checks introduced at Wednesday night’s Premier League match with Wolverhampton Wanderers at the American Express Community Stadium.

Staff checked more than 49% of fans aged 18 or over on entry to the Amex for the Premier League match, with 92% of those fans checked showing a digital NHS Covid Pass to prove they were double vaccinated. Other fans relied on their international Covid passports, NHS letters, lateral-flow tests, or vaccine cards (although the cards are only acceptable for one more match).

Barber said:

“The assistance from fans, including those of our visitors from Wolverhampton Wanderers, was exceptional and, while we were only required to randomly check 20% of those attending, a combination of randomly pre-selecting home fans for Covid pass checks, and a series of further random checks at turnstiles for home and away fans, allowed us to far exceed our target. We refused admission for just two supporters who were unable to demonstrate their Covid status.

“It’s a very encouraging start to what is, and will continue to be, a challenging process, and I would like to thank our supporters for their overwhelming support for the new measures, most of which we have been implementing since the season started in preparation and readiness for the possible imposition of the government’s Plan B.

“I’d also like to thank our staff, many of whom volunteered to work extra hours at last night’s match, and in the lead up to it, to provide us with extra support, worked incredibly hard to deliver Plan-B requirements at very short notice. Their professionalism across all areas was exceptional and I’m very grateful to them for their hard work.

“The willingness of supporters to cooperate with our staff and to comply with the new requirements helps us to keep everyone as safe as possible inside the stadium, and gives us confidence going forward that we can continue to welcome fans into the stadium while supporting efforts to protect the NHS at a critical time.”

The Plan-B measures will remain in place until further notice; the next home game is against Brentford on Boxing Day.