Premier League Confronts the Potential of Another COVID-19 Stoppage

Nine matches have now been postponed in the last five days, with calls for a league-wide shutdown beginning to gather steam as the omicron variant's spread does the same.

First it was at Tottenham, then Brentford, then Manchester United. Then a further six matches called off as the eerily familiar snowball starts to tumble. In total, nine Premier League games have already had to be postponed this week because of the escalating COVID-19 crisis and, while the Premier League insists that, for now, the season must go on, Brentford manager Thomas Frank is not the only one asking whether a circuit breaker—a full stoppage for all to recalibrate—may be necessary.

The scale of the omicron crisis has taken football by surprise. The case rate in the U.K. on Thursday was a record 88,376, up two-thirds on the figure two weeks earlier. That includes only lab-confirmed tests; the consensus is that the actual figure is probably nearer to 200,000. Two days ago, the Premier League reported 42 positive tests, up 30 on the previous week, and that has prompted the reimposition of the protocols from Project Restart, with face coverings to be worn indoors, strict social distancing and limited treatment time. There will also be daily tests for players.

It’s hoped that that will be enough to quell the surge in cases, but with the rest of the country out of lockdown, there are fears as to how seriously players will take the measures. There has been notable vaccine hesitancy among footballers, with the EFL revealing that only 59% are double-vaccinated and 25% of players not intending to get the jab. In the Premier League, 68% are believed to have had the first two doses. Given that current British government guidance is that a third or booster jab is necessary for protection against omicron, those are very worrying figures.

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Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has spoken passionately of the need for vaccination. "Everyone here is at least double-vaccinated and will get a booster as soon as possible,” he said. “The whole vaccination thing is for me a question of solidarity, loyalty and togetherness, and we have all the chance to help not only ourselves but other people as well by getting vaccinated.” 

Nevertheless, three of his players—Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones—tested positive for COVID-19 and were forced to miss Thursday's match vs. Newcastle. Steven Gerrard, similarly, has said that the vaccine status of players will be a factor when he looks at January signings.

But others are more prepared to allow players to make their own minds up—and a lot of players have expressed concern about the heart problems suffered by Christian Eriksen, Sergio Agüero, Piotr Zielinski and the Wigan forward Charlie Wyke recently, asking whether the vaccine could have been a contributing factor. But Wyke was not vaccinated and, while the status of others is unclear, there is no evidence that the vaccine was a factor in any of the cases. FIFA has monitored cardiac cases in football since 2014 and, despite the recent cluster of high-profile incidents, statistically there is no suggestion of any increase in heart-related problems over the past year.

British Parliament on Wednesday approved COVID-19 passports for any event attended by more than 10,000 people. In practice, that means fans will have to provide proof of either double vaccination or a negative lateral-flow test from the previous 24 hours to be admitted, but as stadiums count as outdoor spaces they will not be compelled to wear masks. If hospitalizations follow cases, though, it’s hard to see how sustainable that is, if not for the stadiums then for the public transport required to get to grounds.

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A circuit breaker as the new measures take effect may be a sensible measure to take, but the problem is that certain clubs—notably Tottenham, which has had three games postponed—are already facing a backlog of fixtures. The staggered weeklong winter break in January does offer some slack, but with next season already starting early to accommodate a November World Cup, there is very little leeway to push the end of the season back, particularly with players still feeling the strain from the compacted nature of last season. As in so many spheres, the pandemic has highlighted shortcomings in the system; in this case, the greed that has led to a relentless schedule of games at the expense of player welfare.

That means that for now the policy is of muddling through, of playing games when they can be played and hoping the disruption is not too severe. And for now, perhaps that will be enough. But with omicron cases expected to double every two to three days over the next couple of weeks, this is a rapidly changing situation, and there is a serious possibility that capacities could be reduced, or stadiums closed to fans—or even football paused again altogether.