Tottenham’s Premier League game at Brighton on Sunday has been called off because of the Covid outbreak at the London club, as every top flight club was told to reintroduce “emergency measures” to limit infections.
Spurs said on Wednesday that eight players had tested positive, causing their Europa Conference League match against Rennes on Thursday to be postponed. The match at Brighton now also needs to be rearranged.
Tottenham’s manager, Antonio Conte, has described everyone at the club as “a bit scared” amid an escalation of positive Covid cases that prompted the first-team area of the training ground to be shut.
A Premier League statement read: “Brighton & Hove Albion’s home fixture against Tottenham Hotspur, due to be played on Sunday 12 December at 2pm, has been postponed following a Premier League Board meeting this afternoon.
“Tottenham asked for the match to be rearranged following a significant number of positive Covid-19 cases among players and relevant staff. This led to First Team facilities at the club’s training centre being closed after consultation with the Premier League and UK Health Security Agency.
“The Premier League Board has taken the decision to postpone the game following guidance from medical advisers, with the health of players and staff the priority. The postponed fixture will be rescheduled in due course and the Premier League wishes a quick recovery to those with Covid-19.”
After confirming the postponement, the Premier League board wrote to all 20 clubs advising of a return to “emergency measures” last seen in the summer, when a series of Covid outbreaks disrupted pre-season preparations. The measures will mandate the wearing of masks indoors, limit time spent in close contact – such as in medical treatment rooms – and also likely involve the return of spot inspections to make sure measures are being followed.
The change came alongside uncertainty over new government Covid measures known as “plan B”. Official government guidance says that as of next Wednesday, sports events “will be required by law to check that all visitors aged 18 years or over are fully vaccinated, have proof of a negative test in the last 48 hours, or that they have an exemption”.
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The Guardian understands, however, that checks are likely not to apply to all visitors, with the final terms and conditions still to be determined with the Sports Grounds Safety Authority. There is also a lack of clarity over precisely which venues qualify for the new measures. Rules state, for example, that checks must apply in stadia that host more than 4,000 standing spectators but some organisers believe this figure refers to regular attendance figures, rather than the potential capacity.
New clarity on the rules, which were introduced by the prime minister, Boris Johnson, on Wednesday, is expected by the beginning of next week, just two days before they are expected to be introduced. The Football League has already spoken twice with their clubs over such checks, however, while the Premier League reminded match-going fans on Thursday that they “must be prepared” to show proof of Covid vaccination, or a negative test, as part of the competition’s existing protocols.
In their own statement regarding the postponements, Tottenham apologised to both Rennes and Brighton. It said: “The Club requested the match to be rearranged following a significant number of positive Covid-19 cases among players and relevant staff.
“As with our other affected fixture, against Stade Rennais in the Europa Conference League, we shall update supporters with more information as soon as it is available. We should like to apologise to everyone at Stade Rennais and Brighton & Hove Albion and to both their supporters and ours for any inconvenience caused.”
