The Premier League match between Brentford and Manchester United has been postponed after a Covid outbreak at the Old Trafford club. The decision comes as England’s top flight reported a record number of coronavirus cases.
Brentford were due to host United in west London on Tuesday night but the Premier League confirmed that the match would be rescheduled “following guidance from medical advisers due to the exceptional circumstances.”
United announced on Monday that they were temporarily shutting down first-team operations at their Carrington training base after a spate of positive tests on Sunday, just hours after they had traveled to Norwich for a Premier League game.
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“Given cancellation of training and disruption to the squad, and with the health of players and staff the priority, the Club requested the match [with Brentford] to be rearranged,” read a Manchester United statement.
“The Premier League Board took the decision to postpone based on guidance from medical advisors.”
A new date for the fixture will be announced “in due course,” the club added. The players and staff who have tested positive were not named.
Brentford, who are in their maiden season in the Premier League, apologized for the disruption to fans but said they “respect” the decision.
The postponement comes amid a record number of Covid cases in the Premier League in a one-week period.
Forty-two Premier League players and staff have tested positive for the virus in the past week – the highest number since testing began in May 2020.
Aside from United and Tottenham, other clubs to confirm cases in recent days are Leicester, Aston Villa, Norwich and Brighton.
As Prime Minister Boris Johnson rolls out new restrictions across England to combat the spread of the Omicron variant of the virus, there are fears football could face significant disruption as it approaches a traditionally busy festive period.
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