After the second round of COVID-19 testing on Wednesday, Manchester United was almost "wiped out", with the Daily Mail revealing that only 7 first-team players on the team tested positive for COVID-19. The Premier League has no choice but to announce the postponement of Saturday's Red Devils home match against Brighton.
According to the Premier League's previous rules, as long as a team can gather 14 non-goalkeeper players, the game can continue, and these 14 can include those players in the under-23 youth team who have represented the first team. However, Manchester United have been so affected by the coronavirus positive that even this basic amount cannot be achieved.
The Daily Mail said that before Tuesday's battle against Brentford, after considering factors such as the positive contact with the new crown, only 9 players could be guaranteed to participate, and Longnick also considered using young players to participate in training.
Manchester United announced on Thursday that it would close Carrington training ground again to reduce the risk of spread and would not restart until next Tuesday at the earliest. Prior to the decommissioning of the training center, De Gea, Rashford, Fred and Tres had some training to confirm that the four players were part of the 7 who are currently safe and sound.
It is worth mentioning that according to the current schedule, after the postponement of the battle against Brighton, United's next round of the Premier League will take place on 27 December, that is, 10 days later. In fact, after playing Norwich on December 12, the Red Devils have never played a game again, which means that the team directly suspended for more than half a month, but the price will be that the future will definitely face a more intensive make-up schedule!
United's battle against Brighton is one of five games that have been officially postponed this weekend. Southampton vs Brentford, Watford vs Crystal Palace, West Ham vs Norwich and Everton vs Leicester City have also been postponed. At the same time, the battle between Leicester City and Tottenham, which was scheduled for Thursday, was also postponed.
Previously, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City, Brighton, Villa, Brentford, Watford and Norwich have been confirmed to have players infected with the new crown, while Liverpool and Chelsea are the latest affected teams, raising the affected Premier League teams to 10. Liverpool's Fabinho, Curtis Jones and Van Dijk, suspected of being positive for covid-1, were absent from the 3-1 win over Newcastle; Chelsea's Mateo Kovacic, Lukaku, Hudson-Odoi, Werner and Chilwell have already been determined, Havertz is still awaiting further test results, and the Blues are forced to draw 1-1 in the Premier League this round.
ESPN reported that a growing number of Premier League clubs want the league to be suspended until at least 8 January. But the Premier League was unmoved, insisting on the continuation of the other 5 races of the weekend, as well as the future Christmas Express schedule. The Premier League issued a statement on Thursday stressing: "While some clubs are experiencing an outbreak of COVID-19, the league intends to continue on its current schedule as safely as possible. The health and well-being of all the teams involved remains our top priority."
But in the current context of the Omicron ravages, is there still what the league calls a "safely possible environment" in Premier League games when fans are allowed to enter? The answer is self-evident. The data showed that Omi kerong was leading to a significant increase in the number of new crowns in the UK, with a total of 78,610 testing positive on Wednesday, setting a new record. Brentford coach Frank described Omiljung as a wildfire that was spreading wildly. The virus is not a fan, the stadium is by no means a safe place, and it should be suspended for at least a week to fight the epidemic.
The reason why the Premier League is reluctant to stop is naturally the economic impact. According to the loss of broadcast fees at the time of the Premier League shutdown a year ago, a one-round suspension of the league may require a refund of more than 82 million pounds of fees for broadcasters! It's expensive, so the league has to insist on continuing to have games available to broadcasters, even if the team sends some young players. As the world's most profitable league, the Premier League has no other choice.