TIME TO MOURN
Premier League and EFL call off all weekend’s football following the death of The Queen as sporting world pays respect
PREMIER LEAGUE and EFL chiefs have cancelled this weekend's football following the death of Her Majesty Elizabeth II.
After talks between bosses and government officials, the decision has been made to abandon the scheduled programme.
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A Prem meeting and a call between sport bodies and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport took place this morning.
The Government informed sport bodies that they were under no obligation to cancel scheduled games.
But the decision has been made to call off the weekend's Premier League and EFL matches after The Queen died yesterday, aged 96.
Buckingham Palace confirmed in a statement that Her Majesty Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history, had passed away peacefully at Balmoral.
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The FA have also confirmed that all fixtures across the English football pyramid, including grassroots games, have been postponed, meaning no fixtures will take place at any level.
Monday evening's Prem clash between Leeds and Nottingham Forest has also been called off.
A Premier League statement said: "At a meeting this morning, Premier League clubs paid tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
"To honour her extraordinary life and contribution to the nation, and as a mark of respect, this weekend’s Premier League match round will be postponed, including Monday evening’s game."
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They added: "Further updates regarding Premier League fixtures during the period of mourning will be provided in due course."
Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said: "We and our clubs would like to pay tribute to Her Majesty’s long and unwavering service to our country.
"As our longest-serving monarch, she has been an inspiration and leaves behind an incredible legacy following a life of dedication.
"This is a tremendously sad time for not just the nation but also for the millions of people around the world who admired her, and we join together with all those in mourning her passing."
Meanwhile an EFL statement said: "Further to discussions on Friday morning it has been determined that all EFL fixtures from 9-10 September will be postponed as a mark of respect by the National Sport to the passing of HRH Queen Elizabeth II.
"This is aligned with the approach that the Premier League and the FA will take with their competitions this weekend.
"Further information, in respect of how football, Clubs and their supporters will commemorate Her Majesty’s reign will be confirmed at an appropriate point.
"Details regarding rearranged games will be announced in due course."
Confirming the entire English football pyramid will come to a halt this weekend, the FA said: "Her Majesty the Queen was a long-standing patron of the Football Association and has left a lasting and indelible legacy on our national game.
"As a mark of respect, following the passing of Her Majesty the Queen, English football has united to postpone all football fixtures between 9-11 September."
"The FA can confirm that all football fixtures across the Barclays Women's Super League, Barclays Women's Championship, the Vitality Women's FA Cup, and the Isuzu FA Trophy, will be postponed this weekend.
"We can also confirm that all football fixtures across the National League System [NLS], Steps 1-6, including the Vanarama National Leagues, the Women's Football Pyramid [WFP], Tiers 3-7, and matches across grassroots football in England will be postponed.
"The Premier League and the EFL have all confirmed that their fixtures this weekend will be rescheduled for a later date.
"All flags at Wembley Stadium and St. George's Park will continue to fly at half-mast over the weekend.
"Our thoughts remain with our president, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, and the whole of the Royal Family during this time."
But the Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League will still go ahead as English teams would forfeit any matches they fail to take part in.
An announcement on the weekend's football fixtures has been made before fans start travelling up and down the country for tomorrow's games.
Prem chief Masters and his board were aware of a potential backlash if they played the matches as scheduled.
Another factor considered was the potential drain on police resources as towns and cities up and down the land pay tribute to The Queen.
Talks over whether to move next weekend's London fixtures due to issues with policing are also set to go ahead.
Tottenham host Leicester on Saturday 17th, while Brentford vs Arsenal and Chelsea vs Liverpool are scheduled for the following day.
Games are permitted to go ahead on the day of the Queen's State Funeral, which is expected to take place on Monday 19 September.
Again officials have said there is no obligation to cancel fixtures, but sport bodies may want to consider postponing games or readjusting kick-off times on the day as to not clash with the service.
It had already been confirmed on Thursday that the two EFL fixtures scheduled for today, Burnley vs Norwich and Tranmere vs Stockport, had been postponed.
Last night's European games involving Manchester United, Arsenal and West Ham all went ahead.
A minute's silence was observed before United hosted Real Sociedad in the Europa League and West Ham played FCSB in London.
Players also wore black armbands in tribute.
Arsenal's match against FC Zurich in Switzerland saw a minute's silence carried out at half-time after the news broke while the game was in play.
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A full Football League fixture list went ahead three days after King George VI, The Queen's father, died in February 1952.
But the decision has been made to postpone this weekend's games as the UK enters a period of national mourning following the passing of Her Majesty Elizabeth II.
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