January 24 – Clubs may need to prove at least four positive Covid cases under new Premier League regulations being considered relating to postponed games.
The issue of matches being called off, often as a cynical attempt to bend the rules because of injuries and international call-ups, has been fiercely debated in recent weeks.
Currently, clubs seeking a postponement have to show they do not have 13 available players plus a goalkeeper.
The recent north London derby between Tottenham and Arsenal was called off even though the visitors had a maximum of only two Covid cases in their ranks.
Because of all the inconsistency, with 22 games postponed already, the Premier League have now apparently agreed to consider tightening the rules with wording around player availability being replaced with more specificity around ‘live Covid cases’.
The new plan could apparently be in place for the next round of top-flight games in three weeks’ time, reported the Daily Mail. This follows a short winter break and an FA cup weekend.
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