Both Villa and Burnley have confirmed that this afternoon’s 3pm kick off at Villa Park has been POSTPONED.
Whilst it is the right choice for the game to be shelved given the outbreak in the camp AND the surge Covid cases, it also opens a pandora’s box of questions.
What consideration was given for likelihood the game would take place at all?
Villa’s game was one of few that remained this weekend and the only 3pm kick-off on Saturday. Could this not have been reviewed much earlier and what made Villa/Burnley different to other matches which were cancelled in advance?
Why was the decision to announce that the game was off left so late on Saturday?
Many fans will have travelled some distance from around the UK (and abroad)? There is not only the inconvenience and needless expense to consider, but that a signficant number of people have moved across regions avoidably during a pinch point of the pandemic.
COVID CONTEXT
The Villa Underground had been keeping a close eye on the fixture, which had been subject to stringent regulations in order for fans to attend at all.
Fans had been required to prove their vaccination status, provide a negative test and complete a pre-attendance questionnaire. Many had indicated privately on social media and directly to this site of their intention to stay away from the fixture in an attempt to avoid isolation over the Christmas period.
Whilst this would have certainly stunted the attendance at Villa Park, it would definitely have seen the gathering of thousands of supporters as an outlier with Covid-19 cases surging in England.
More to follow…
Embed from Getty ImagesFeatured Image Credit