Overstretched police could mean more football cancellations despite games resuming tomorrow
12 September 2022, 11:56 | Updated: 12 September 2022, 12:50
Police and football clubs are holding talks today over a number of matches potentially being postponed this weekend as the nation mourns the Queen's death.
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Hundreds of additional officers have been drafted into London from across the country ahead of the 96-year-old monarch's funeral on Monday, September 19.
Security operations will ramp up when the Queen's body is returned to the capital tomorrow, police resources are expected to be stretched as close to a million people travel to see her coffin and pay their respects.
Already there are "major concerns" about Chelsea and Liverpool's Premier League clash on Sunday at Stamford Bridge, and police are in discussions about calling off the match due to this week's extra pressures.
Arsenal's Europe League match against PSV on Thursday could also be postponed, along with its Premier League game with Brentford on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur are due to host Leicester City on Saturday, but the option of switching venues has been ruled out, according to sports journalist Owynn Palmer-Atkin.
Elsewhere in the country Manchester United's match against Leeds at Old Trafford could also be postponed or moved due to security concerns, the Daily Mail reports.
Over the weekend Rangers' Champions League match against Napoli was moved back by 24 hours to Wednesday night as the Queen's death led to “severe limitations on police resources and organisational issues”.
On Saturday a National Police Chiefs Council spokesperson said: "We will work with football clubs to try and ensure that, where possible, football fixtures can take place safely when balanced against the requirement to support national events and deliver day-to-day policing.
"This is a unique situation and we are working closely with everyone involved."
After the Queen's death on Thursday, the Government told sports bodies they are under no obligation to cancel or postpone any fixtures.
But the decision was made to call off last weekend's Premier League and EFL matches as a mark of respect to Britain's longest reigning monarch.
However not all sports followed suit, with cricket, rugby, golf, horse racing and other events carrying on as planned over the weekend.
Just hours after the Queen's death on Thursday, a group of Shamrock Rovers fans were heard chanting "Lizzie's in a box" to the tune of KC and the Sunshine Band's Give It Up during the team's Europa Conference League game in Dublin.
In a statement, the club said: "Such highly insensitive and callous chanting is not acceptable at our club and is against the values that Shamrock Rovers F.C. stands for."
