THE EFL have confirmed that today’s fixtures have been postponed as British sport pauses following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Queen died peacefully aged 96 on Thursday – marking an end to her historic reign and making her son, Charles, King.
Charles, who will now be known as King Charles III, gave a sombre statement as he led the nation in mourning last night.
Day Two of the cricket test match between England and South Africa at The Oval was cancelled as the country mourned the loss of its monarch.
The Queen’s passing comes as…
The Queen’s beloved horse racing was also stopped – with last night’s meetings at Southwell and Chelmsford both being abandoned.
The EFL then announced last night that they have postponed the two scheduled fixtures for this evening.
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A statement read: “As a mark of respect, following the passing of Her Majesty, The Queen Elizabeth II earlier today, the EFL has confirmed that its fixtures scheduled for tomorrow evening Friday 9 September – Burnley v Norwich City and Tranmere Rovers v Stockport County – have been postponed.
“A determination regarding the remainder of this weekend’s scheduled fixtures will be made following a review of the official mourning guidance, in addition to further consultation with DCMS and other sports on Friday morning.”
The governing body and Premier League chiefs will make an announcement this morning on whether this weekend’s games are cancelled.
While the Government is not planning to enforce a shutdown in sport, Prem chiefs are aware of a potential backlash if they play the weekend’s matches as scheduled and a meeting has been called for 11am this morning.
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Its chief executive Richard Masters is said to have told clubs that they will have to make their own decisions regarding games, with government guidance not “definitive”.
But an announcement confirming that all fixtures this weekend are postponed is expected.
A factor is the potential drain on police resources as towns and cities up and down the land pay tribute to The Queen after her 70-year reign.
A final call will be made by lunchtime with Prem chiefs aware that clubs will be setting off for overnight stays ahead of tomorrow’s games and that fans also will need to know if they are travelling.
But while there will be no Government action to block sports fixtures from taking place, football, rugby and racing in particular are thought to be leaning towards postponements.
Matches are still likely to take place over the coming 10 days after this weekend although sports bodies will be expected to mark the passing of Her Majesty Elizabeth II.
That will see fans and players asked to respect one minute silences before games, the national Anthem also to be played and black armbands worn.
If the weekend’s football matches are called off it will be a break with precedent from the last time a monarch died in the middle of the football season.
A full Football League fixture list, including the North London Derby between Spurs and Arsenal, took place on Saturday February 9 1952, three days after the death of King George VI.
The Government has contacted sports bodies to make it clear they have the final say on whether fixtures should be played – with a green light if there are suitable marks of respect paid.
European games involving Manchester United, Arsenal and West Ham all went ahead yesterday.
A minute’s silence was held before United and West Ham played, while players also work black armbands in tribute to The Queen.
Ministers accepted that it would not have been feasible for the games at Old Trafford and the London Stadium to have been postponed when thousands of fans were already at the ground when the confirmation of The Queen’s death came last night.
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There was also a minute’s silence during Arsenal’s match against FC Zurich in Switzerland after the news broke during the game.
But it is expected that no sporting events will take place during the Queen’s funeral parade and service, expected to be on Monday September 18, although any night matches would be allowed to get ahead
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
