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Police call for SIX ‘high risk’ Premier League games to be moved
- Authorities have identified key games that need to be played at neutral venues
- Police fear that players may gather near the stadiums
- Mental Health and Psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Police have identified several fixtures that they have marked as ‘high risk’.
With the announcement that Premier League action is set to resume on June 17, authorities have identified several games that they consider ‘key and high risk’.
Premier League among other sporting events around the world have been on an unprecedented three months break due to Covid-29 pandemic.
The games are set to be played behind closed doors with fans restricted access, something that London Mayor Sadiq Khan says would be a concern citing that ‘we do not want to inadvertently give an opportunity to the virus to spread’.
Police have identified fixtures featuring Liverpool as a potential with the Merseyside side set to land the Premier League trophy after 30 years.
Reports indicate that at yesterday’s Premier League meeting, 12 games were mentioned to need a potential moving to neutral venues.
Deputy chief constable Mark Roberts of South Yorkshire Police, the UK’s football policing lead, said: ‘Our discussions with the Premier League throughout this process have been positive, with a shared focus on the priority of public health.
‘As such we have reached a consensus that balances the needs of football, while also minimizing the demand on policing.
‘The majority of remaining matches will be played at home and away as scheduled, with a small number of fixtures taking place at neutral venues, which, contrary to some reports, have yet to be agreed.’
The ‘six high-risk games’ are Manchester City vs Liverpool, Manchester City vs Newcastle, Manchester United vs Sheffield United, Newcastle vs Liverpool, Everton vs Liverpool and Liverpool’s title-winning game.
As yet, there are no fixtures relating to relegation-threatened sides, which could avoid the row over neutral venues which saw the bottom six insist that they wanted to retain home advantage.
Discussions on that will now take place between the Premier League and senior football police officers, who today praised the league for their cooperative and positive contribution to security discussions.
