UPDATE: The Premier League has announced that all matches this weekend are expected to go ahead except for Tottenham against Everton. Of course, this is subject to change based on what happens in England in the next 48 hours. “Acting on current information from the authorities there is no reason to believe that matches outside of London will be affected at this time,” said the Premier League statement.
This Saturday’s match between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton has been postponed due to safety concerns stemming from the riots in London, England.
“Following ongoing discussions with the necessary authorities regarding this weekend’s Premier League home match against Everton, it has now been confirmed that this fixture will be postponed due to safety concerns relating to infrastructure of the High Road and access to the stadium caused by last Saturday’s riots,” said a club statement from Tottenham Hotspur.
“The very latest situation is that Tottenham and Everton has gone,” said Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore. “The police have done a fantastic job, but it’s been a crime scene all week and the council have not had enough time to do what they need.
“The other nine fixtures are looking positive, subject to any more trouble. At 6pm BST tonight we will have a very clear picture. The Tottenham game is a real shame but we support the police in what they are doing. They want these games to go on as much as we do.”
Hopefully no other Premier League games will be a victim of the riots in England, but a key decision for the police will be whether they feel they will have the resources needed to police matches as well as, at the same time, having enough policemen and policewomen to keep order in the streets.
For viewers in the United States, the match between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton was scheduled to be shown live on ESPN2. As of press time, no decision has been made regarding which match will be shown instead but as soon as we know today, we’ll update this post.
What are your thoughts about the Tottenham against Everton match being postponed? Do you think it’s a wise decision, and do you think more Premier League matches will be postponed this weekend? If so, which ones?
