Premier League’s COVID crisis Answering the big questions around protocols, plans, postponements

The Premier League is about to embark on its busiest period of the season, with 40 games — plus all four Carabao Cup quarterfinals — due to be played in the space of 17 days starting this Saturday. But a resurgence of COVID-19 is threatening to wreak havoc on the fixture list.

Manchester United’s home game with Brighton this weekend was the fifth Premier League fixture to be postponed in the space of six days because of a COVID-19 outbreak that had ripped through the squad of one of the competing teams, with Leicester vs. Tottenham (Thursday), Burnley vs. Watford (Wednesday), Brighton vs. Tottenham (Sunday) and Brentford vs. Manchester United (Tuesday) also being forced to be called off because of several positive test results.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Brentford head coach Thomas Frank — who confirmed his club has recorded 13 positive cases in the latest round of testing — urged the Premier League to postpone this weekend’s round of fixtures, saying “COVID-19 cases are going through the roof at all Premier League clubs, everyone is dealing with it and having problems.” Sources tell ESPN that a number of clubs are even pushing for a shutdown until the new year given the increasing number of cases.

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Football’s coronavirus problems in the United Kingdom are a reflection of society, with the country recording 78,610 positive cases on Wednesday — the highest national figure since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. This week, the Premier League introduced emergency measures in an attempt to reduce the risk of outbreaks within clubs and ensure that fixtures can go ahead without disruption. But the game faces a turbulent period in the weeks ahead; how will the Premier League navigate a safe path through the latest COVID-19 outbreak?

What is the situation right now?

The Premier League reported 42 positive COVID-19…