Sporting Events Including Premier League Fixtures Postponed After Death Of Queen Elizabeth II

The football associations of England and Scotland have postponed all matches until Tuesday next week after the death of the Queen.

The English FA's decision covers everything from the Premier League to scheduled grassroots games while the Scottish FA said only professional games would be affected.

The moves were revealed as a growing number of events are cancelled or postponed out of respect for Britain's longest-reigning monarch.

Her death left event organisers and institutions considering their best course of action as the country entered a period of national mourning.

The Mercury Prize was among the most notable events to be postponed on Thursday night.

The FA's decision, which was revealed after the Premier League and English Football League suspended matches, delays the start of the WSL season and comes despite government guidance which suggested there was no official obligation to cancel events at this stage of the mourning process.

As a mark of respect to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, this weekend’s Premier League match round will be postponed.

— Premier League (@premierleague) September 9, 2022

Here are all the major events to have been affected so far:

Friday

It is appropriate to start with the Queen's favourite sport.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) announced that meetings scheduled for Friday - including the third day of the St Leger meeting at Doncaster - have been cancelled.

The Queen watching her horse Free Agent win the Chesham Stakes at Asco (Credit: Sky)

The English Football League has postponed two matches scheduled for Friday - Burnley v Norwich in the Championship and Tranmere v Stockport in League Two.

The Scottish Professional Football League has also postponed its Championship contest between Dundee and Cove Rangers as a mark of respect.

The Northern Ireland Football League also postponed Friday night's matches between Cliftonville and Glentoran and Larne and Dungannon, along with the rest of the weekend programme.

The Scottish Rugby Union has delayed all domestic competitive games this weekend as a mark of respect, and the women's summer Test international between Scotland and Spain on Sunday is also off.

The RFL postponed Friday's Betfred Championship fixture between Sheffield Eagles and Dewsbury Rams, but the first Super League elimination play-off between Catalans Dragons and Leeds will go ahead as it is taking place in Perpignan, France.

Further announcements about the weekend's fixtures at all levels were set to be made "as soon as possible", the governing body said.

The England and Wales Cricket Board announced that Friday's play in the men's third Test between England and South Africa at the Oval would not take place.

Friday's Tour of Britain stage was promptly cancelled and later on Thursday evening the rest of the tour, which was set to finish on the Isle of Wight on Sunday, was called off entirely.

Away from the sporting world, the second day of a 48-hour strike by Royal Mail staff was cancelled.

Weekend

The Premier League and English Football League confirmed on Friday morning that all the weekend's fixtures would be postponed.

The FA later confirmed that all games, including grassroots, would not take place while counterparts at the Scottish FA said its decision applied only to professional matches.

The top flight organisation wrote:

"To honour her extraordinary life and contribution to the nation, and as a mark of respect, this weekend's Premier League match round will be postponed, including Monday evening's game."

The Sandringham Game and Country Fair, due to be staged on the Sandringham estate over the weekend, was cancelled as a mark of respect shortly after the Queen's death was announced.

The Italian Grand Prix will go ahead as scheduled on Sunday, with a minute's silence planned before practice on Friday and another expected before the race.

The TUC union organisation said that its annual Congress, due to begin on Sunday, would be rescheduled to a later date.

Next week

It is early in the period of national mourning and decisions about events scheduled for next week are likely to be made over the weekend.

One piece of welcome news for commuters was that strikes on the rail network, due on Thursday and Saturday, have been dropped by the three unions involved as a mark of respect.

Strike action by criminal barristers is to continue, though protests outside courts and parliament have been cancelled.