How Queen Elizabeth’s death impacts U.K. football: Champions League game moved, Premier League games postponed

The death of Queen Elizabeth II has been an event of such momentous proportions that its impact has been felt far beyond the political arena or however else one would choose to define the place that the 96 year old occupied in British society. The period of national mourning which the United Kingdom has entered will have an impact economically, socially and culturally so it was perhaps inevitable that the national obsession of football would prove to be a prism through which this historical moment was perceived.

The Premier League is part of the national fabric, a weekend ritual for hundreds and thousands, but also a product to be consumed by a global audience of millions. Caught between those two pillars the English top flight cannot always make its every follower happy and nowhere has that been more apparent than its decision to postpone fixtures in light of the monarch’s death.

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Which games have been postponed?

On Friday morning, fewer than 18 hours after Buckingham Palace had confirmed Queen Elizabeth II’s passing, English football announced that it would be postponing all fixtures due to be played in the country over the weekend, right the way down to grassroots level, out of respect to a woman who had left “a lasting and indelible legacy on our national game”. The football associations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales soon followed suit.

It was not an approach that was shared by other sports. England cricket captain Ben Stokes articulated the thoughts of many when he said he would “be honored to play in memory” of a woman who had loved sports. The singing of God Save the King when the Third Test between England and South Africa resumed on Saturday was for some one of the most poignant moments of a weekend filled with tributes to Elizabeth II and her successor, King Charles III. The late Queen’s beloved horse racing also took place on Sunday whilst rugby union matches were played across the country.

Though the FA’s suspension of football has been concluded — though all fixtures scheduled for Elizabeth II’s state funeral on September 19 have been postponed — there are further complications to address. Those already mean that three additional fixtures have been taken off this week’s schedule. Thursday night’s Europa League meeting between Arsenal and PSV Eindhoven will not take place whilst two Premier League matches this weekend — Manchester United vs. Leeds United and Chelsea vs. Liverpool — have also been postponed. The game between Brighton and Crystal Palace had been postponed due to a rail strike that had been scheduled for this weekend; though the industrial action has been cancelled the fixture will not go ahead.

A full list of postponed fixtures in the Premier League and European competition can be found below

Which games are going ahead?

There will be a full slate of fixtures in the EFL whilst the following Premier League matches will take place.

Friday
Aston Villa vs. Southampton (3 p.m. ET)
Nottingham Forest vs. Fulham (3 p.m. ET)

Saturday
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Manchester City (7:30 a.m. ET)
Newcastle United vs. AFC Bournemouth (10 a.m. ET)
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Leicester City (12:30 p.m. ET)

Sunday
Brentford vs. Arsenal (7:00 a.m. ET, had previously been scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET)
Everton vs. West Ham United (9:15 a.m. ET, had previously been scheduled for 9:00 a.m. ET)

Why have these games been postponed?

Ahead of her funeral the former monarch is lying in state, first at St. Giles in Edinburgh and then on Wednesday from 5 p.m. BST at Westminster Hall in London. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps more, are expected to travel to the capital to pay their respects to Britain’s longest serving monarch and the events leading up to her funeral next Monday are expected to provide a major drain on policing resources.

As such Rangers’ Champions League tie against Napoli has been moved back from Wednesday to Thursday in the expectation that crowds in Scotland will have decreased when Queen Elizabeth II is no longer lying in state in the country. Supporters from Italy will not be permitted to travel to the game and in reciprocation Rangers will not receive an away allowance for their game at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

The severe limitations on police resources and organizational issues related to the ongoing events surrounding the national mourning for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II” also prompted UEFA and Arsenal to postpone the Gunners’ Europa League tie against PSV Eindhoven, who were expected to bring a significant contingent of travelling fans from the Netherlands, on Thursday. A game at a bigger ground on a date nearer to the funeral goes some way to explaining why the Metropolitan Police did not feel as confident in their ability to cover that game as they did Chelsea’s Champions League tie with Red Bull Salzburg, which will take place as planned on Wednesday.

By Sunday, crowds in London are expected to have grown further and it had long been expected that there would be insufficient police presence for Chelsea’s game against Liverpool. Indeed the Metropolitan Police will be drafting in officers from outside the capital, meaning that there is not the capacity for Greater Manchester Police to cover the derby between Manchester United and Leeds.

“Following extensive conversations with the Premier League, Greater Manchester Police and Trafford Council, the decision has been made to postpone Manchester United’s Premier League fixture against Leeds United,” said a Manchester United statement. “This is due to Greater Manchester Police supporting forces across the United Kingdom at locations and events of high significance following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”

Why aren’t postponed games being switched?

In the case of Arsenal’s Europa League game it is obvious why they cannot simply flip their home games so that the Gunners play in Eindhoven on Thursday. The game might be played but thousands of fans planning to make the trip for the away game would suddenly find themselves out of pocket with travel plans that are of precious little use to them anymore.

As for the Premier League in addition to the above (for many a train ticket from Liverpool to London would be no cheaper than a flight to Eindhoven) there is of course the sporting minefield that is opened up if any set of circumstances are deemed appropriate for the switching of home and away games. If the funeral of a monarch is sufficient would bad weather in one city but not another do the job?

There are further security matters to consider for these particular games too. Switching the Chelsea game to Anfield would mean Liverpool and Everton playing on the same day in the same city; these two are “partner clubs” in Premier League fixture lexicon and when one plays at home the other invariably plays away. If Manchester United’s game at Leeds had been flipped Erik ten Hag’s side would also have had three consecutive away games, something the Premier League never usually allows. Add into the mix the policing complications and it is apparent why there was no simple solution to flip these games around.

When will the postponed games be played?

This is where things get complicated, thanks in no small part to the hulking presence of a World Cup in the middle of the season. The determination of clubs across Europe to not curtail their fixture list in any way to make way for this most unusual of campaigns leaves English football with precious little breathing room to squeeze in further games.

This is a particular problem for Arsenal. The draw for the knockout rounds of the Europa League are due to take place on November 7 and UEFA will want the group stages to be complete by then. However there is no more than four days between any of the Gunners’ games between now and the start of the World Cup later in November; the club are expected to request Premier League approval to postpone a match with their game against Manchester City on October 19 viewed by insiders as the most logical date. Club sources at the Emirates Stadium told CBS Sports that the prospect of forfeiting the match as Tottenham had been forced to against Stade Rennais last season was never on the table in dialogue with UEFA and that Arsenal, who wanted to play the game, aim to find space in the fixture list “somehow”.

As for the Premier League games, there is no available date for them to be completed before the end of 2022. Indeed the first specifically scheduled free midweek in the top flight’s calendar does not arrive until April. Between then there are dates around the EFL Cup and FA Cup replays that could become available should clubs not be involved in those competitions but it would require a degree of cooperation from broadcasters that they do not always readily show. The same might be said of UEFA, who generally do not approve of top flight domestic matches being played at the same time as Champions League fixtures.

In past years, the FA has often been the one to make room on the fixture list, cancelling FA Cup replays in the last two years as COVID-19 played havoc with the schedule. At the time of writing there will be replays in the third round, where Premier League and Championship clubs enter, and the fourth.

Particular headaches could well come for those teams who are involved in European competition. Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United now have two games to make up, should they be involved in the latter stages of the Champions League, Europa League or Europa Conference League then the avenues for them to make up these games will become particularly narrow. It is not as if the season can simply slide onwards beyond its scheduled conclusion of May 28, the FA Cup Final comes the following week and then the Champions League final and an international break straight after, surely more than enough to sap the last reserves of energy from the player base.

For now all the Premier League needs is a mild, snow-free winter and no return to the COVID-19 induced fixture drama of a year ago. Then come the new year they should have a clearer sense for how on earth they can make up these games.

Full list of postponed Premier League and European games

Premier League
Week 6

• Arsenal vs. Everton
• Bournemouth vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
• Crystal Palace vs. Manchester United
• Fulham vs. Chelsea
• Leicester City vs. Aston Villa
• Liverpool vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers
• Manchester City vs. Tottenham Hotspur
• Southampton vs. Brentford
• West Ham United vs. Newcastle United

Week 7

• Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Crystal Palace
• Chelsea vs. Liverpool
• Manchester United vs. Leeds United

Champions League

• Rangers vs. Napoli (originally scheduled for Wednesday, September 14, will now take place on Thursday, September 15)

Europa League

• Arsenal vs. PSV Eindhoven