Premier League has called off the match between Leicester -Tottenham amidst the COVID-19 surge.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Thursday match between Leicester -Tottenham has been postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak making it the third consecutive postponement involving Tottenham.
Spurs earlier requested for a postponement ahead of their Europa Conference League match against Rennes and their last weekend’s Premier League game against Brighton was also called off because of Coronavirus.
Gatekeepers News earlier reported that the postponements came after a total of eight players and five members of staff tested positive to COVID-19 at the north London club.
Two weeks ago, Spurs’ Premier League at Burnley was also postponed due to bad weather.
On the other hand, Leicester are also dealing with a coronavirus outbreak, with Brendan Rodgers having said on Wednesday that he was “disappointed” the Premier League had rejected a request from the Foxes for the fixture to be postponed.
However, the postponement comes hours after Brentford’s Thomas Frank called on the Premier League to suspend this weekend’s round of fixtures, with several top-flight clubs struggling to contain COVID-19 outbreaks.
Spurs had already travelled and were in a hotel ready to travel to the King Power Stadium to play the game.
Premier League while announcing the postponement in a statement wrote: “The Premier League Board has postponed Leicester City FC’s match against Tottenham Hotspur tonight due to an increase in positive COVID-19 cases within Leicester’s squad today.
“In light of the new information, Leicester applied this morning for the fixture to be called off due to an ongoing outbreak within the squad, which has resulted in more players and staff testing positive for COVID-19 today. This has left the club with an insufficient number of players available to fulfill the game.
“Following consultation with the Premier League and UK Health Security Agency, the club’s first-team training ground was closed this morning to help contain the outbreak.
“The Premier League understands this decision will disappoint and frustrate fans who were due to attend this evening’s game and apologises for the inconvenience and disruption caused at such short notice.
“The Board assesses applications to postpone matches on a case-by-case basis, based on existing rules and COVID-19 postponement guidance issued to all clubs.
“It will assess a number of factors, including the ability of a club to field a team; the status, severity, and potential impact of the COVID-19 outbreak at the club; and the ability of the players to safely prepare for and play the match. The Board must also consider the wider risks to the opposition and other people the club may come into contact with.
“With the health and wellbeing of all players and staff the priority, and In light of the recent rise in COVID-19 cases across the country, the Premier League has reintroduced Emergency Measures.
“These include protocols such as more frequent testing, wearing face coverings while indoors, observing social distancing, and limiting treatment time.”
Earlier this week, the outbreak led to the postponement of Manchester United match against Brentford on Tuesday, and Watford vs Burnley.
