Premier League clubs hope to return to the stadiums next weekend, but there is the potential for disagreement over where matches will be held amid concerns over the organization of matches in London.
The games in the capital are understood to be threatened by safety concerns, with police officers likely to be redeployed at short notice to help manage Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
One potential solution under discussion is for London clubs to play away from home next weekend instead of at home.
But this idea is unlikely to prove popular with clubs that will have to host a new home match within one week, due to the complexities that come with hiring matches at short notice.
Such a belated change would also leave these clubs facing the unprecedented challenge of organizing an unplanned home match within one week, with little time to find staff, and sell tickets to fans at home and abroad.
As such, Premier League matches remain at risk of being postponed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth – although matches outside of London are unlikely to be affected.
The death of the Queen, who was the United Kingdom’s longest-serving monarch, prompted the four nations to a 10-day period of mourning, as the Premier League, the English Football League, the Football Association of England and the Scottish Football Association decided all matches were scheduled. It will also be canceled this weekend.
The Premier League is set to play the final round of matches before the last international break before the World Cup next weekend, ahead of the Queen’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday 19 September.
More cancellations could cause an unprecedented backlog of matches in a season that will be interrupted by the first Winter World Cup.
But London is expecting a record number of visitors wanting to pay their respects to the late Queen at Britain’s first state funeral since Sir Winston Churchill’s death in 1965.
This will naturally lead to the redeployment of a large number of emergency workers in what is expected to be one of the largest police operations in the country’s history.
When asked before the athlete On the possibility of football matches in London being postponed next weekend, the Metropolitan Police said: “Whether matches will take place is a matter of the football authorities.
“Should installations occur, the Met will work with relevant partners and ensure that appropriate police plans are in place.”
Three Premier League matches are scheduled to take place in the capital next weekend.
It is scheduled to host Tottenham Hotspur, on Saturday, Leicester City. Brentford are due to play Arsenal on Sunday, while Chelsea host Liverpool late in the game.
go deeper
Explanation: The impact on the UK football calendar after the death of Queen Elizabeth II
(Photo: Getty Images)
.
