The Premier League has rejected Leicester’s and Spurs plea to postpone their games despite their major covid outbreaks .
Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers revealed today he has nine players ruled out through Covid-19 and illness.
And Tottenham boss Antonio Conte said he had a ‘big problem’ with his team as Spurs too have had nine players infected.
The surge of the Omicron Covid variant is wreaking havoc in Premier League dressing rooms. But the league has rejected requests to have further games postponed this week.
Man United’s fixture at Brentford on Tuesday was called off thanks to an outbreak among the visitors’ squad, while Tottenham’s match with Brighton last weekend went the same way.
And with the latest figures showing a record high of 42 positives across the Premier League, others have been in touch to ask for their games to be postponed.
However, those appeals have fallen on deaf ears, with the competition keen to ensure minimal disruption while keeping sporting integrity.
Spurs wanted tomorrow night’s match postponed in order to fulfill their Europa Conference League match with Rennes, which has now been canceled after UEFA failed to find a date for it.
‘We don’t have fault for what happened. I tell you, we deserve to play this game and to try to have a chance to go to the next round,’ Conte insisted at his press conference on Wednesday.
‘The Premier League didn’t want to postpone the game against Leicester, maybe because we have to play against Burnley and Brighton. We posted two games before. I can understand, we can understand. On the other hand, I think we deserve to play our chance against Rennes to go to the next group.
‘We don’t find a good solution between UEFA and Premier League, why Tottenham has to pay for this? It’s not fair we have to pay for a situation that isn’t our fault. I understand if we did something wrong but, in this way, for the club, the players, the staff, it’s very difficult to understand what’s happening.’