- Premier League clash between Aston Villa and Newcastle has been postponed due to local Covid-19 outbreak
- It becomes the league’s first game cancelled due to rising cases of the pandemic
- Mental Health and Psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19
Newcastle United’s trip to Aston Villa on Friday became the first Premier League fixture postponed because of a Covid-19 outbreak.
It is believed that Newcastle had raised severe concerns that the spread of the virus within their first-team squad will become worse should they travel to and from Birmingham and stay overnight.
Reports further detail that the number of infected individuals is ‘more severe’ than the five that were reported on Monday – forcing the closure of the club’s training ground.
The concern they have is that some individuals who have tested negative this week could travel with the group only to later test positive, as is suspected was the case during last weekend’s trip to Crystal Palace.
Managing director Lee Charnley sought guidance on the Premier League requirements for postponement and the club presented all of its evidence at the point of application.
Confirmation of postponement arrived on Tuesday afternoon.
In a statement, Aston Villa said: ‘Aston Villa can confirm that the Club fully supports the Premier League’s decision to postpone our fixture with Newcastle United on Friday.
‘Everybody at Aston Villa wishes a speedy recovery to all those @NUFC affected by the virus.’
In a statement of their own, the Premier League added: ‘Following a Premier League Board meeting today, Newcastle United’s fixture at Aston Villa, due to be played on Friday December 4, has been postponed.
Meanwhile, Newcastle’s players have been told to stay away from the training ground and have not trained since last week.
