Friday’s Premier League clash between Aston Villa and Newcastle United has been postponed indefinitely as a result of an unprecedented upsurge of Covid-19 cases at Newcastle’s training ground at Darsley Park.
Seven people at Newcastle have tested positive, including five players and two staff members, leading to the club’s training ground getting shut on Monday, on the advice of Public Health England North East (PHE), and remained closed on Tuesday.
Newcastle have now been granted their wish to have their fixture at Villa Park postponed, with the Premier League saying it agreed that the Magpies were unable to train and “safely prepare”
“Everybody at Aston Villa wishes a speedy recovery to all those affected by the virus,” read an official statement from Aston Villa even as the club revealed they “fully support” the Premier League’s decision to postpone the match.
Both Villa and Newcastle held what has been described as an “extensive consultation” with Public Health England North East (PHE) and Premier League advisors, and a decision has been made to call off the match with “the health of players and staff the priority”.
The game will now hold at a later date that will be communicated later.
This marks the first occasion where a Premier League fixture has been postponed because of Covid-19.
Another round of testing will be conducted on players and training ground staff this week, before another meeting between Newcastle, PHE, and the Premier League to assess the results and make a decision on the next course of action.
Newcastle’s next game will be on Saturday, 12 December in a match against West Bromwich Albion at St. James’ Park, before a trip to Elland Road four days later to play Leeds United.
Ohhhh. But why?