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Additional reasons revealed as to why British football is cancelled and what happens next?

Additional reasons have been revealed as to why British football is cancelled and what happens next as home nations mourn the Queen’s death.

The Premier League, EFL and non league has suspended this weekend’s fixtures as a mark of respect after the death of Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96.

The decision to postpone all matches from Saturday and Monday was taken after a meeting on Friday, which was held after an earlier meeting involving the British government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport and representatives from a range of sports.

The UK enters a period of national mourning, expected to last at least 10 days. Further information on the remaining fixtures set to take place during this period will be confirmed in due course.

Government advice suggests that no major events should be held on the day of the Queen’s funeral — the date of which has not yet been confirmed, but it is most likely to take place on the 18th or 19th of September.

The Premier League didn’t hold a vote on postponement; instead, the board made the decision and the clubs agreed.

The government said it was the decision of individual organisations to make regarding the holding of events during the nation’s mourning period.

The English FA announced that all football fixtures Sept. 9-11 would be postponed across the WSL, Women’s Championship, Women’s FA Cup and FA Trophy, along with all steps of the non league National League System, women’s football pyramid and grassroots football.

Sources have told ESPN that various governing bodies including the English Football Association (FA), the Premier League and the EFL began pondering what to do about the weekend’s fixtures before deciding against a sudden judgement moments after news broke of the Queen’s passing.

Daily Mail claim one unnamed EFL chief stunned rival clubs by attempting to organise an impromptu friendly in anticipation of league contests being cancelled… 30 minutes after the news of the Queen’s death.

Recipients of the request, which was sent on WhatsApp, were left astonished at the timing of the message, with it increasingly clear on Thursday night that professional football would shut down this weekend in order to pay tribute to the Queen.

Some clubs have privately complained of logistical issues attached to the postponement of matches, while others would prefer their players to have involvement in a match scenario this weekend to ensure players maintain their sharpness.

Authorities were also said to be worried that not all fans would be respectful during minute’s silences ahead of games.

Potential global embarrassment, if fans did show dissent during tributes, was reportedly one of the reasons that authorities decided not to go ahead with games.

The final decision to cancel football matches was left to the associations. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) arranged an all-sport call for 9:30am on Friday to discuss options and answer questions when possible. The Premier League gathered its board and representatives from all 20 clubs at 11 am to discuss their next move.

When King George VI died on the 6th of February 1952, there was a full set of football league fixtures played three days later.

Similarly, games were played in the aftermath of King George V’s passing in January 1936.

However, matches were halted when Princess Diana died in August 1997 and, in a different context, football resumed at the first opportunity following the outbreak of Covid, partly on the basis of the morale boost competitive sport would provide to a nation enduring widespread pain.

Sources have told ESPN that the Premier League opted not to proceed with its fixtures following a board decision that was then supported by the clubs after the Queen’s death. The government allowed games to be played.

Henry Winter writes: “Old Trafford and London Stadium on Thursday showed fans impeccable in tributes to the Queen. But it was inevitable that PL/EFL programme would be off because football is the national sport, because of leagues’ fear that even one disrespectful shout would make front-page news news and damage the sport’s image plus usual policing/logistics issues (even more of an issue next weekend in London).”

One source suggested that if the Queen died on a Friday or a Saturday, the decision would have been a formality, but this weekend comes in the middle of the initial wave of shock at the announcement and the likely outpouring of grief at the funeral, the date of which is yet to be confirmed, but is speculated to be either Sunday, the 18th of September or Monday, the 19th of September.

If the funeral takes place the 18th of September, the scale of the policing operation puts the fixtures slated for next Sunday in jeopardy. This will be Britain’s first state funeral since the death of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965, and huge crowds including people travelling from all corners of the world to London. The policing operation will come into effect over the weekend regardless of the actual funeral date, and so the prospect of a second gameweek potentially being disrupted is clear.

Talks go on over how to manage this situation in the coming days. Sources say the UEFA is in talks with relevant stakeholders over whether next week’s Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League matches involving English clubs should take place. Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, West Ham and Manchester United are all due to be in action, as well as Scottish clubs Rangers, Celtic and Hearts.

Midweek games in the EFL and non league are expected to go ahead.

The Queen’s grandson, Prince William, is the president of the FA and she was herself a patron of the organisation.

ESPN write: “In the view of football’s governing bodies, the logistical difficulties are superseded by a desire to pause in recognition of a landmark moment in a nation’s history and the end of an era. There will always be another match. There will never be another Queen Elizabeth II.”

SEE MORE: Josh Windass and football world hits out at decision to suspend weekend’s games

As additional reasons are revealed as to why British football is cancelled, social media users had their say…

@realhoptonboy: Absolutely spot on…… an incredibly poor call from the FA. Kids would have learned more about respect through playing and conducting a minute silence prior to their game, than not being able to play at all…. which will only breed resentment and out of sight out of mind…

@daniel_son79: Whilst I don’t agree with grass roots and kids football being called off, to say it will affect their mental health is a bit OTT. It’s only one weekend. They can still go out and be active and have a kick about down the park with their friends. They aren’t in lockdown!

@Bad_News_Jones: Come now Henry, whilst many will be respectful, many will be ambivalent. One fanbase in particular will go out of their way to be disrespectful. You won’t name them for fear of bullets in the post.

@ianpotta252: Not just kids Henry, plenty of men and women go to work all week and love to play football as a release and forget about all the worries of life, same goes for spectating.

@spursmjn: Writing was on the wall when @LFC had to disable comments when they finally posted about the Queen almost 2 hours after the news broke. As you say about fear I think it’s probably the right decision even though it shouldnt have needed to come to this. Very sad.

@shez_dictates: Henry, you were the first calling for it to be off. I for one would have been proud to pay my respects at the game but that’s been denied and now we are all kicking our heels for goodness knows how long. Kids will keep us busy, now they’ve nothing to do.

@gmkonline: So football was off because they were scared of what the press would print? That is madness.

@TheMightySteve: Makes no sense that every other sport is continuing over this weekend. Fans may or may not have disturbed any tributes, but is that not ones right? The PL/EFL have got this horribly wrong. “Don’t dare try and enjoying yourself, peasants” is the message here.

@AFCAMDEN: Sorry, that’s nonsense. They’re going to hold a moment of silence whenever they next play so unless they never play again, that is a stupid reason. Government also gave the go ahead so no policing issues this weekend – whereas next weekend there will be. Ridiculous decision.

@Trevorlloyd92: Whilst I agree, who said they have to stay in doors? They can go for a kick about still. Its not lockdown 🤦‍♂️

@claireno2: With it looking inevitable next weekend may also be cancelled, due to policing issues. It would have been a nice touch similar to rugby to play the fixtures this weekend, but serve a minutes silence. Absolutely agree regarding grassroots, it’ll be replaced by shopping & gaming!

@GanderflankerUK: Whole thing is a joke. All football should be on. Perfect opportunity for the football family to show their respect for the Queen and to come together to do so. It was not inevitable. It was an antiquated decision made by suits in London. Shameful.

@dlmjnk: But it’s OK for cricket, rugby, etc to carry on. Ridiculous decision by the football authorities. Perhaps they should have liaised with the governing bodies of other sports before making a decision.

@stevebakeris: The PL and the EFL bottled it, plain and simple, without a thought for fans particularly away fans, who had booked hotels, train tickets etc! A fitting tribute would have been thousands of fans showing their respects as they did on Thursday night.

@Neal_Huss: Kids can still go out and play, they’ve not been locked up

@DerekAdamson: I think shameful is a bit strong @henrywinter but I agree the amateur and children’s footie should be played. All my playing and coaching years we observed impeccable “minute’s silences” at Remembrance weekend and the importance was never lost on any of us. #RIPHerMajesty

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