Coronavirus

FANS will once again be banned from ALL English football stadiums from tomorrow morning after a rapid rise in coronavirus cases.
Liverpool and Everton were the only remaining Premier League sides allowed to host supporters – until an announcement by health secretary Matt Hancock on Wednesday afternoon.

Anfield will once again be empty after tonight’s game with NewcastleCredit: EPA

The entirety of England, with the exception of the Isles of Scilly, will wake up in either Tier 3 or 4 on New Year’s Eve.
Only clubs inside Tier 2 areas are allowed a maximum of 2,000 fans inside grounds.
The East Midlands, North East and parts of the South Coast are among the regions entering Tier 4 restrictions – which now encompass almost 80 per cent of the population.
The move is one of many recent setbacks for football amid a sharp increase in cases across the country.

A number of games have been postponed in recent weeks due to outbreaks of the virus inside squads.
Tottenham’s game with Fulham on Wednesday evening was called off only hours before kick-off after a spike of cases in the Cottagers camp.
Newcastle were forced to postpone a trip to Aston Villa earlier in December with Monday’s game between Manchester City and Everton also cancelled.
Next month’s hotly-anticipated North-West derby between the league leaders Liverpool and second-placed Manchester United is just one fixture now taking place behind closed doors.

And some are calling for an extended break to minimise the disruption.
SunSport understands a small number of clubs have privately floated the idea – but Premier League chiefs remain determined to carry on with their current plans.
West Brom boss Sam Allardyce said after his side’s loss to Leeds, which came after a single positive test in his squad, that a ‘circuit-breaker’ may be necessary.
He said: “Everyone’s safety is more important than anything else.
“When I listen to the news that the variant virus transmits quicker than the original virus, we can only do the right thing, which is have a circuit break.
“I am 66 years old and the last thing I want to do is catch Covid.
“As much as we’re getting tested – we had one positive this week – it seems to be creeping round.

Can we please get this two week circuit breaker thing off the table. Players may get four-five days off. What is that going to do?
Gary Neville

“No matter how hard we try, no matter how many times we get tested, how we wear our masks, how we sanitise our hands, we’re still catching a lot infections round the country.
“If that helps [circuit breaker], let’s do it and let the season run a little longer when we get through it.”
However ex-England defender and shareholder in League Two Salford Gary Neville dismissed the idea.
He tweeted on Wednesday: “Can we please get this two week circuit breaker thing off the table.

“The players would have to carry on mixing and training to be ready in two weeks for a match.
“They may get four-five days off. What is that going to do? Would have to be a long break to do anything meaningful!”
Neville’s sentiment was echoed by Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish – who replied to the pundit’s tweet with the comment ‘Bang on!’

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PREMIER LEAGUE chiefs remain determined to keep the season on track – despite the latest Covid spike.
Manchester City’s game at Everton on Monday was called off just hours before the scheduled kick-off after  a surge in positive tests at the Etihad.

Sam Allardyce had backed the calls for a ‘circuit-breaker’Credit: Rex Features

But Sheffield United played at Burnley on Tuesday despite being without three players – Oli McBurnie, Phil Jagielka and Billy Sharp – and boss Chris Wilder reporting that ‘four of five’ of his backroom staff had tested positive.
Fulham’s game at Spurs this evening remained on at midday although Tottenham are understood to believe their rivals may request a postponement.
And while there are increasing concerns over the spread of the virus after the discovery of the fast-growing mutant strains, League chiefs have no current intentions of calling the campaign to a halt.
West Brom boss Sam Allardyce sounded the alarm bells after his side’s thrashing by Leeds, while two or three clubs have privately discussed the possibility of a ‘circuit breaker’.

But SunSport understands such a conversation has not included any of the Big Six, who remain fully behind League chief executive Richard Masters in his continuation strategy.
There has also been no attempt to get the 20 clubs together to discuss the evolving situation.
At this stage, the next meeting of the 20 ‘shareholders’ has yet to be scheduled and is unlikely to take place until the back end of January.
That meeting will almost certainly have to address ‘curtailment’ issues if the League has to go into a temporary or even longer-term hiatus.

Clubs accepted at the start of the season that there needed to be a set of rules in place and that a points per game formula would likely be adopted if required.
But there was no agreement on the threshold of games for the season to be deemed “completed” if it ended early.
So far, League bosses believe they have acted sensibly and are putting the health, safety and welfare of clubs first.
West Ham boss David Moyes, though, articulated the concerns of a number of clubs – led by Aston Villa and Everton – by demanding more transparency from the Prem over the precise rationale behind when games could be postponed.
Everton were frustrated by the late decision to call off their game with City, pointing to regulations that suggested clubs could only ask for postponements if they had fewer than 14 senior players available.
League chiefs, though, insist that the regulations always gave the board room to exercise discretion and that the precedent was set when Newcastle’s game at Aston Villa in early December was called off after the Toon training ground was closed down following a virus outbreak.
City, who were awaiting the results of Tuesday’s mass screening of players and staff, fear that their outbreak could be worse than the one that saw Newcastle unable to train for more than a week.

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EVERTON have requested ‘full disclosure’ of the information Manchester City provided to the Premier League after their match was postponed due to Covid-19 cases.
The two sides were due to meet at Goodison Park on Monday night but a late postponement just four hours before the 8pm kick-off left the 2,000 fans scheduled to attend gutted.

Everton’s game against Manchester City at Goodison Park was postponedCredit: Getty Images – Getty

The Sun exclusively revealed that half of Pep Guardiola’s side are feared to have caught the virus with club officials concerned it may have ripped through the team at the London hotel where they stayed for the Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Arsenal last week.
In a statement, Everton said: “Everton Football Club regret the postponement of tonight’s match against Manchester City – not only for the 2,000 fans who would have been attending, but for supporters on Merseyside and across the world.
“Our players were prepared for the game, as were both the team staff and everyone at Goodison. Matchday is the most important date in our calendar. And this was a big one.
“Whilst Everton will always have public safety uppermost, we will be requesting full disclosure of all the information that Manchester City provided to the Premier League so the Club can be clear on why this decision was taken.”

At least three more City stars have contracted the virus days after Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus were told they had tested positive on Christmas Eve, along with two backroom staff.
A source said: “Players spend an awful lot of time together. The club is stringent with following protocols, but it shows how easily it spreads. Now the concern is even more players will test positive.”
City requested the postponement – which could now cause fixture chaos with Sunday’s game against Chelsea now at risk.
Guardiola’s men are then due to face Manchester United in the Carabao Cup semi-finals three days later and the club’s training ground has been shut for an ‘indeterminable period’.

A City statement read: “Manchester City FC can confirm that this evening’s Premier League fixture at Everton has been postponed.
“After the latest round of Covid-19 testing, the club returned a number of positive cases, in addition to the four already reported on Christmas Day.
“With the security of the bubble compromised, there posed a risk that the virus could spread further amongst the squad, the staff and potentially beyond.
“Based on strong medical advice the Premier League, in consultation with both clubs, have decided to postpone the fixture.

With the security of the bubble compromised, there posed a risk that the virus could spread further amongst the squad, the staff and potentially beyond.”
Manchester City

“All positive cases involving players and staff will observe a period of self-isolation in accordance with Premier League and UK Government protocol on quarantine.
“The first team training ground at City Football Academy will close for an indeterminate period, with the squad and associated bubble undergoing testing before any decision is made for training to resume.
“Everyone at the Club wishes all of our colleagues a speedy recovery ahead of their return to work, training and competition.”
The Premier League said: “The Board agreed to rearrange the game as a precaution.”

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