Last weekend, the biggest news in the Premier League wasn't on the field, or more precisely, not the games that were played, but the games that were not played. Six of the 10 matches in this round have been delayed. Discussions about whether the league should be suspended or continued have also become heated. Of course, the culprit in all this is the new crown virus.
# Over half of the matches cancelled #
The Premier League officially announced on the 17th that due to the outbreak of the epidemic within many teams, it had to postpone 4 more games this weekend. The four games are Southampton v Brentford, Watford vs Crystal Palace, West Ham United vs Norwich and Everton v Leicester City.
18 December 2021, England, 21/22 Premier League Round 18, Aston Villa vs Burnley, the match was postponed due to the pandemic
Then, just 2 hours before the start of the match, the Premier League added aston Villa to the list against Burnley. Villa officially revealed that on Saturday morning, the positive data in the team increased. Coupled with the previously postponed clashes between Manchester United and Brighton, more than half of the matches in this round have been postponed.
Previously, the Premier League has postponed the 17th round of Manchester United against Brentford, Burnley against Watford, Leicester City against Tottenham Hotspur 3 games, plus the 16th round of Tottenham Hotspur against Brighton, there are currently as many as 10 Premier League games due to the epidemic have to choose a day to replay.
There are now more and more positive cases of Premier League teams. Chelsea announced that four players in the team tested positive for covid-19: Lukaku, Werner, Hudson-Odoi and Chilwell. Liverpool officials announced that Fabinho, Jones and Van Dijk tested positive. As many as 19 positive cases of COVID-19 have emerged within Manchester United clubs. It is no exaggeration to say that the Premier League is now facing the crisis of suspension.
# Low vaccination rates #
On the one hand, this wave of the epidemic is related to the new Olmikron strain. This strain spreads very fast, faster than Delta. The epidemic data released by the British government on the 17th showed that the country had 93,045 new confirmed cases of new coronavirus in a single day, setting a record for the highest single-day new cases since the outbreak of the epidemic for the third consecutive day, and the cumulative number of confirmed 11190354 cases. There were 111 new deaths in the UK on that day, with a cumulative total of 147048 cases.
London has declared itself in a state of emergency for "major incidents"
The Premier League, on the other hand, has its own personality issues. Vaccination rates for players at all levels of England's football leagues are generally low. According to the data released in October, 81% of the players have been vaccinated at least once, and 68% of the players have been vaccinated. For comparison, La Liga 92.8%, Bundesliga 94%, Ligue 1 95% and Serie A 98%.
And according to the EFL, the statistics of the English professional football league, 25% of players are reluctant to be vaccinated, especially young players. For example, a Premier League star said that he could not be vaccinated for "moral reasons" - his family is vegetarian, and vaccine research and development uses animals. There are also concerns that adenovirus vector vaccines can affect fertility. Another player refused to be vaccinated because of his religious beliefs and lack of trust in the COVID-19 vaccine. All sorts of reasons.
# Suspension? #
In the face of such a chaotic situation, the views of the clubs in the Premier League are not very unified. For example, Brentford manager Frank has called for the Premier League to postpone all competitions in the 18th round. Liverpool manager Klopp said there was little benefit in suspending the league. The interests of each team are different, so the perspective of the problem is naturally different. Like Villa, who has been gaining momentum lately, manager Gerrard is also very calm: out of selfishness, he wants the game to continue.
On December 17, 2021, England, the 18th round of the 21/22 Premier League preview, Aston Villa coach Gerrard held a press conference, although he did not want the game to be postponed, but the match between Villa and Burnley was postponed
The latest news, the Premier League decided to meet tomorrow to discuss whether it is time to postpone a round of matches. The Next Premier League is about to enter the "Christmas schedule". Starting next Sunday on the 26th, each team has a tight schedule to play. The 19th round was played on the 26th, 27th and 28th days, followed by the 20th round on the 28th, 29th and 30th consecutive days, followed by the 21st round on New Year's Day.
Based on past experience, the outcome of these three rounds will largely determine the title race and relegation situation in the Premier League this season. According to media reports, it is now very likely that the middle 20th round of matches will be postponed to slightly block the spread of the epidemic among the teams. But the problem is that doing so can only be a palliative, not a cure, and if the players don't want to be vaccinated, the league officials can only stare dryly.
# The NBA and the NFL are in crisis #
On the other side of the Atlantic, both the NBA and the NFL are under pressure to shut down due to the pandemic. Nearly 1/4 of the NBA's players have been suspended for triggering coronavirus protection regulations, and the league has announced that it will postpone 5 games involving 9 teams. The NBA and players' unions are currently discussing new countermeasures to avoid delays and cancellations this season. The new countermeasures include that teams with outbreaks can sign multiple players, and players who sign additional contracts are not counted in the salary cap, no luxury tax, and so on.
The outbreak of the NBA epidemic has put many teams in a situation where no one can use them
According to the Washington Post, because of the epidemic, the NFL will cancel the daily nucleic acid testing for players who have been vaccinated but have not developed any symptoms, which will ensure that the NFL will not be suspended due to the epidemic. It feels a bit of a cover-up, and in order for the game to go smoothly and the team's financial interests, there is no need to control the potential risks.
Therefore, the professional sports league is not a rootless wood and a source of water, it is based on the culture and ideology of the local society. Different epidemic prevention attitudes determine whether the respective leagues can be carried out smoothly. The Premier League, the NBA, and the NFL can only take one step at a time.