English football: the Omicron variant is already disrupting the “boxing day”

“The title cannot be won at boxing day”, used to say Alex Ferguson, the legendary Manchester United manager, “but he can get lost”. Boxing Day, a public holiday in England, is the climax of the Premier League. A period when the matches are linked while most of the other European championships are in truce. But this year, the accumulation of positive Covid-19 cases has already resulted in the cancellation of three “boxing day” meetings, while contamination levels are breaking record after record. In total, many matches will be replayed during the second part of the championship, adding to an already saturated calendar.

“We will not have enough recognized first team players to meet the Premier League’s requirements for the game”. With five Covid-19 positive players, and several others already injured, the Leeds club recognize that they cannot field the thirteen outfielders and the goalkeeper required to play a meeting. The team coached by Marcelo Bielsa will therefore not be able to face Liverpool in the legendary lair of Anfield Road, scheduled for “boxing day” on December 26. For their part, the teams of Watford and Everton are also forced to cancel their trips on the same day, respectively to Wolverhampton and Burnley.

This is the problem that threatens the entire championship for the rest of the season: in total, 12 postponements of matches have already been accumulated because of bad weather and positive cases detected, which promises a second part of the season saturated with matches. The clubs, however, refused to temporarily interrupt the season, during a meeting last week. This period of the year is crucial both from a sporting and economic point of view, since three days of the championship follow one another between December 26 and January 3, generating a large influx of supporters (who are on vacation), in stadiums or in front of their televisions.

To try to lighten their schedules a bit, the coaches of Liverpool and Tottenham have proposed reducing the semi-finals of the League Cup to a chopper match, instead of the round trip scheduled for early January. The Spurs have in particular three league games late, which will have to be squeezed into the second part of the season. The big clubs, which play on several fronts, particularly fear this accumulation and the fatigue which results from it for the players. “I think it would be better to play only one game”, supported Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp, a bit fatalistic, “but what I say is not too important”.

84% of Premier League players have already received at least one dose, a rate that rises to 92% when aggregating club staff. No restrictions have been put in place to reduce the seating capacity of the public at English stadiums, but supporters must provide proof of vaccination or show a negative test taken within the previous 48 hours. If the British government has so far refused to take new measures, the “tidal wave” of the Omicron variant sweeping over the United Kingdom could be a game-changer.