Leicester vs Tottenham POSTPONED as Covid crisis continues
Leicester City v Tottenham is POSTPONED, just hours before kick-off, after Covid outbreak in the Foxes camp got even WORSE
- Tottenham’s last two matches have been called off due to their Covid outbreak
- Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers says he has nine players out due to the virus
- Brentford have called for this weekend’s Premier League games to be called off
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Tottenham‘s clash away to Leicester tonight has been called off just hours before kick-off due to Covid-19 outbreaks at both clubs.
This week, both teams complained about having requests to postpone the game rejected.
The two sides have endured Covid-19 outbreaks of late, with Tottenham’s matches against Rennes in the Europa Conference League and Brighton in the Premier League postponed.
Antonio Conte’s Tottenham have had their match at Leicester called off due to Covid-19
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers said on Wednesday he had nine players with Covid
A Premier League statement read: ‘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 fulfil 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.’
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers said on Wednesday: ‘We’ve still got a number of players out. We’ve got nine players out through COVID and other medical issues. In terms of COVID, we’re still where we were.’
Of the potential for the game to be called off, he said: ‘We’ve looked at that.
‘Unfortunately for us, we weren’t granted any dispensation, which was disappointing.
‘We’ve wanted to support the measures, but when we wanted support for the extreme situation we were in, it’s disappointing not to get the support. We were touch and go for the Newcastle game.
‘We’ve picked up a couple of injuries as well, that are COVID related because we can’t rotate the team. We’ll put out the best team we can.’
Conte and Tottenham have had their last two matches postponed due to the virus
Three more Chelsea players have tested positive for coronavirus, according to reports
Tottenham boss Conte, meanwhile, said: ‘For me it’s very difficult to speak about this topic.
‘For sure, the Premier League didn’t want to postponed the game against Leicester, maybe because we have to play against Burnley and Brighton.
‘We postponed two games before. I can understand, we can understand.
‘On the other hand, I think we deserve to play our chance against Rennes to go to the next group. We don’t find a good solution between UEFA and Premier League, why Tottenham has to pay for this? It’s not fair we have to pay for a situation that isn’t our fault?
‘I understand if we did something wrong but in this way, for the club, the players, the staff, it’s very difficult to understand what’s happening.’
Earlier on Thursday, Brentford manager Thomas Frank learnt of a Covid outbreak at his club midway through a press conference, while Chelsea have since recorded three positive tests.
The Bees have record 13 positive cases among players and club staff.
Frank called for all of this weekend’s matches to be called off, saying: ‘We think we should postpone the full round of Premier League games this weekend.
‘Covid cases are going through the roof at all Premier League clubs, everyone is dealing with it and having problems.
‘To postpone this round and also the Carabao Cup round would give everyone a week at least, or four or five days to clean and do everything at the training ground so everything is clean and you break the chain.
‘Also in football, you need close contact. Physios need to do their job with players in treatment.
‘We are in dressing room on matchdays, we are travelling by coaches so it’s a little bit more difficult to work from home.’
Brentford manager Thomas Frank has called for this weekend’s Premier League games to be postponed after they became the latest top-flight side to suffer a Covid outbreak
The Bees have recorded 13 positive cases among players and club staff as of Thursday
The Omicron variant of the virus has led to a large increase of cases in the UK, with Wednesday seeing 78,610 testing positive – the highest daily number since the pandemic began.
The new variant has affected the Premier League as well, with several matches being cancelled due to an outbreak at multiple clubs.
Brentford’s clash at home Manchester United on Tuesday was postponed until the New Year after United were forced to close down their training centre in the build-up to the match.
Meanwhile, Burnley’s match against Watford on Wednesday was called off two hours before kick-off after the Hornets announced an outbreak in their team.
