BEVERLY HILLS, December 01, (THEWILL) – The Matchday 11 Premier League tie between Aston Villa and Newcastle billed for Friday, December 4 has been postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
The training ground at Newcastle has been closed and several players and staff members are self-isolating after returning positive coronavirus test results.
The club is yet to reveal the exact numbers or identities of those affected, but, upon the positive tests, they lodged a request with the Premier League to postpone Friday evening’s fixture with Villa.
The League Board approved the postponement, with a statement from the Premier League saying: “Following a Premier League Board meeting today, Newcastle United’s fixture at Aston Villa, due to be played at 8pm Friday 4 December, has been postponed.
“Newcastle lodged a request with the Premier League to rearrange the game following a significant increase in COVID-19 cases at the club.
“This resulted in Public Health England (PHE) advising that their training facilities be closed down. The Premier League Board agreed, as a consequence, the club are unable to train and adequately and safely prepare for their match on Friday.
“The decision has been taken in consultation with Newcastle United and Aston Villa and following extensive consultation with PHE and Premier League medical advisors, with the health of players and staff the priority.
“Newcastle correctly notified PHE regarding a number of positive COVID-19 test results, which is standard practice under Government and Premier League guidelines.
“PHE convened a meeting with Newcastle and the Premier League yesterday to assess the situation and advised the club’s training ground should shut immediately and no group training would be permitted between players until Friday at the earliest.
“All players and training ground staff will be re-tested this week and another meeting between the club, PHE and the Premier League will take place to assess the test results.”
This will be the first Premier League game to be postponed due to COVID-19 and all Newcastle players and staff will be tested again this week.
It happens to fall on the weekend that will see the return of a limited number of fans to some Premier League games for the first time since March.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
