Omicron Variant Ruins Premier League?

The COVID-19 pandemic is taking over again with the new Omicron variant running havoc in Europe. Some leagues like the German Bundesliga have decided to conduct matches behind closed doors while others still going on with full capacity.

With the cases rising rapidly in the United Kingdom it feels like we are going back two years and no one knows what’s going on and this uncertainty is a problem.

If we take a look at Premier League clubs six out of the 18 are affected badly by the virus outbreak. Aston Villa had to cancel their training sessions after they had positive cases on Sunday. Brentford had 13 positive cases and Thomas Frank suggested delaying this weekend’s game to help ensure football games around Christmas are not cancelled. Brighton manager Graham Potter wanted the game against Wolves postponed but it was not allowed. Leicester City were forced to shut down their first-team operations for two days. Manchester United have only 7 first-team players available for this week’s match.

The problem with Premier League is they don’t have a plan they are making rules as they are going on Brighton were forced to play while united and Spurs’ matches were postponed. The question is should the PL consider taking a 10-day break around the Christmas period like other leagues and restore the order of their house.

The cases in the UK are at a record high and although this variant is not as deadly as the Delta version nut it is a matter of public safety because this variant can spread around two times faster than the other one. Thomas Frank said let us sort out our training facilities and our ground. Give us time to organize our training facilities. The clubs did reach out to the PL but they replied by issuing a statement that read they are going to try everything to get these matches started one by one.

If things carry out the way they are the situation might get worse and that is why the fans are disappointed. But if we take a look from PL’s point of view when the season was halted when the virus first came about it cost them 313 million pounds. Clearly, the PL could lose an enormous amount of money if matches get cancelled and will hurt the clubs as well because they are still recovering from the losses of the previous season.

Premier League has to act now if they want to avoid a catastrophe.