Many football fans have been left scratching their heads after three out of the ten Premier League matches this weekend have once again been postponed following the death of Queen Elizabeth II – one of which is Manchester United‘s home game against Leeds United, originally scheduled for Sunday 18 September.
It was fairly unsurprising that last weekend’s raft of fixtures were cancelled following the Queen’s passing on Thursday, but punters have now been left confused by this latest decision that also sees Liverpool’s trip to Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion’s match against Crystal Palace postponed.
However, although most were quick to assume that the FA are choosing to prolong their period of respect, this rationale makes little sense when just six teams have been impacted.
As it turns out, the matter is more to do with policing.
The #PL will resume this weekend after a pause to the season as a mark of respect following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Seven of the 10 Matchweek 8 fixtures will be played, with three postponed due to events surrounding The Queen’s funeral.
As explained in the Prem’s full statement, despite seven out of ten games going ahead as normal: “Following extensive consultation with clubs, police, local Safety Advisory Groups and other relevant authorities, there was no other option but to postpone the three fixtures.”
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Put simply, Premier League matches are classified as Category A, B or C in advance of every season: A being the lowest risk of fan disorder and C the highest. Beyond that there is also ER (enhanced resources), which are reserved for the biggest of derbies when trouble is expected and more than 500 local officers are often deployed.
Both United v Leeds (a historic rivalry) and Liverpool v Chelsea have been classified as Category A this year; meanwhile, Brighton’s derby against Palace on Saturday was already in doubt following rail strikes and has now faced the chop due to further exceptional circumstances surrounding the Queen’s funeral.
As a result of Monday’s state funeral, hundreds of police are set to be reassigned to London and as a retired chief superintendent turned lecturer told The Athletic, not only will these officers ‘be there for as long as the Met think they’re needed’ but cities are also planning their own commemorations, obviously creating a ‘second draw on resources’.
While the organisation goes on to thank the UK Football Policing Unit, local police forces and broadcast partners for liaising with them during this difficult time, fans of the affected clubs have been less than impressed by the decision.
Some have even posed the possibility of playing the games behind closed doors – another suggestion which hasn’t gone down well:
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There are legitimate questions to be asked about how all this fits in now (which is why postponing last week was a nonsense) but it shouldn’t be fans who miss out. What a mess
Notwithstanding any further unseen developments, the remainder of Friday, Saturday and Sunday’s games are due to go ahead, with kick-off being moved for the likes of Brentford v Arsenal and Everton v West Ham.
It is worth noting, however, that grounds still hosting matches this weekend are still likely to see a reduced police presence due to the surrounding events, leading many to argue that if further postponement was necessary then it should be a catch-all decision or not at all.
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
13th September 2022 
