COVID-19 Q&A: Sportsmail answers the key questions after Man City’s postponement

Manchester City‘s postponement against Everton due to a Covid-19 outbreak has brought the virus back into sharp focus in the Premier League. 

An emergency meeting on Monday determined the game could not go ahead on safety grounds and a host of questions have been thrown up heading into 2021 as to whether the outbreak will lead to further postponements. 

Here Sportsmail looks to explain the latest situation, how rules can be tweaked to grant postponements and what this means going forward for the top flight, the English Football League (EFL) and the third round of the FA Cup.  

Man City’s game at Everton on Monday was postponed due to an increase in positive tests

So, what’s the latest?

Manchester City’s trip to Everton became the second Premier League match this season to be postponed due to Covid-19. 

Following on from news on Christmas Day that Gabriel Jesus and Kyle Walker had tested positive for the virus, Sportsmail understands that three of City’s team returned positive tests on Monday, and the match at Goodison Park was called off around five hours before kick-off.

There are doubts over City’s ability to face Chelsea on Sunday and then Manchester United in the Carabao Cup semi-final next week. 

City’s training ground will temporarily close while more understanding is gained on the recent Christmas outbreak. 

Pep Guardiola’s side saw their trip to Everton called off and now they will undertake more tests

It was confirmed on Christmas Day that Gabriel Jesus (pictured) and Kyle Walker were isolating

There are more tests planned at City today in a bid to get control of the outbreak and to stop further spreading through players and staff. 

‘After the latest round of Covid-19 testing, the club returned a number of positive cases, in addition to the four already reported on Christmas Day,’ a City statement read.

‘With the security of the bubble compromised, there posed a risk that the virus could spread further among the squad, the staff and potentially beyond.

‘Based on strong medical advice the Premier League, in consultation with both clubs, have decided to postpone the (Everton) fixture. All positive cases involving players and staff will observe a period of self-isolation in accordance with PL and Government protocol on quarantine.’

What will it take for football to be stopped? 

A complete shutdown, as there was back in March when the nation was first gripped by Covid-19, remains unlikely.

However, the rising rate of infection could see supporters once again kept away, despite having just returned in small number in Tier 1 and 2 areas. 

Secretary of state for sport Oliver Dowden said following the Tier 4 announcement that ‘elite’ sport could continue behind closed doors and that is expected to continue. 

It is a tricky one to answer but if clubs soon become ravaged by positive cases the Premier League could face some very tricky decisions.  

I thought 14 or more players meant NO postponements?

Well, technically yes. 

Premier League rules state that matches should go ahead if a club has 14 available players, including a goalkeeper.

Before the 2020-21 season began, it was outlined to clubs that Under 23s who had played first-team games should be included as part of the 14 in a bid to avoid postponing matches.

The Premier League are keen to finish the season on time to avoid issues down the line with broadcasters – like during 2019-20 Project Restart – but are unwilling to compromise safety to do so.  

 City had more than the required 14 players but the Premier League took a precautionary call

The Premier League can make a judgement call then?

They can.

With the nation seeing new daily highs for recorded cases and an increase in Covid-19-related deaths, the League are keen to avoid unnecessary risk and exposure. 

The decision to postpone City’s trip to Goodison Park came on the back of medical advice and was seen as a precautionary measure, to prevent contamination in Everton’s squad.

Even with the rules stating no game should be postponed if there are 14 players eligible, the Premier League can treat matches on a case-by-case basis, as they did on Monday evening following an emergency meeting.  

Has this happened before? 

Once before this season – Newcastle’s trip to Aston Villa was postponed following an outbreak in Steve Bruce’s squad. 

Positive cases reached double figures at the North East club and the decision was made on December 1 to postpone a trip to Villa Park. 

Clubs are operating strict bubbles for the first team and yet if an infection enters the bubble it can spread quickly. 

The club had concerns that cases would have increased had they travelled and stayed overnight for the Friday night game at Villa. 

So City’s postponement represents only the second Premier League game this season to be postponed due to the impact of the coronavirus.  

Newcastle had a squad outbreak earlier in the month with Jamaal Lascelles (left) and Allan Saint-Maximin (right) confirmed as suffering from the effects of Long Covid

Are league-wide positive test results on the rise?

The latest figures show an increase of one case on the previous week but, in comparison to November, positive cases have been down. 

City’s increase could see a sharp rise but those figures are yet to be made public.

The week of November 9 to November 15 remains the worst for positive tests with 16 positive for Covid-19 from 1,207 individuals tested. 

The first week heading into December, when Newcastle saw their game postponed, there were 14 cases. 

In contrast there were only 30 positive cases from around 35,000 tests carried out during Project Restart so the increase remains significant.

Clubs are operating strict measures to avoid players and staff contracting the virus but the increase in national cases, plus the new strain, has seen greater cause for concern across the top flight.  

Is more testing the answer?

Sportsmail exclusively revealed last week that clubs in Tier 4 areas would return to twice-weekly testing for players and staff. 

The discovery of a mutant strain of the virus saw the decision made to double up the amount of weekly testing in troublesome areas of the country as an added precaution. 

Following their outbreak earlier in the month, Newcastle had funded more testing themselves beyond the League’s mandatory once a week. 

Tier 4, which affects London, the South East and eastern England, have seen tougher measures to tackle the rise in cases and teams in those areas are subsequently testing more often to avoid a swarm of positive tests.  

Clubs in Tier 4 areas, such as Chelsea, have returned to twice weekly Covid-19 testing

Can fans expect more postponements to follow? 

It’s tricky to say as the situation can swing one way or the other very quickly.

City’s postponement at Everton and subsequent closure of their training ground does make their game against Chelsea highly unlikely, although there has been no official decision on the League as of yet as to whether it goes ahead as planned. 

Guardiola’s side already face a busy schedule but could have to squeeze seven games into 16 days in May if there are further delays to their calendar. 

Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes tested positive and is isolating but it is unknown whether there has been a bigger outbreak among his team-mates and first team staff. 

City’s sudden outbreak will place the rest of the league on alert heading into what is anticipated to be a harsh January.  

City’s upcoming games against Chelsea and Manchester United are also under threat

What about the EFL… and the FA Cup? 

In a word: chaos.  

Rochdale’s next two League One games have been postponed while Morecambe and Doncaster Rovers have also had their matches pushed back.

Rotherham, on the other hand, will play their Championship game with Barnsley on Tuesday just to avoid receiving a possible points deduction.  

Rochdale club doctor Dr Wes Tensel told BBC Radio 5Live on Tuesday: ‘It’s not the wisest thing for the season to continue.’

Chelsea are already facing their game against City being called off and Morecambe, their FA Cup third-round opponent, are in the midst of postponements following an outbreak, bringing their cup tie into doubt. 

Rochdale’s next two Sky Bet League One games have been postponed due to coronavirus

‘We’ll see what the position is,’ said Lampard. ‘It’s a key time and a rough time, and we felt that coming with Tier 4 coming in and the surge in Covid.

‘From our point of view I will find out more over the next day or two to make sure it has to be safe for the two teams. If not the (City) game won’t go ahead.

‘If we don’t play these games (City and Morecambe) we’ll keep working. I’m not surprised because the way Covid is in the UK is difficult for everybody and football isn’t very different. So we’ll just have to see what the Premier League come up with but safety will be paramount.’

The FA Cup is being considered an elite sporting event and while it is expected to go ahead as planned, there are concerns about teams from different divisions mixing while cases are on the rise. 

Eight Premier League clubs are on the road at lower-league opposition and there has been an appetite to establish the Covid-19 protocol in place at these grounds to keep both sets of players and staff safe.  

Morecambe’s upcoming fixtures against Bolton and Bradford have also been postponed