Premier League chiefs will decide on Monday whether to cancel the Christmas fixture list, with a vaccination crisis at the root of the crisis gripping English football.

An emergency meeting of all 20 clubs will be staged virtually, as they attempt to navigate a path to continue the season after a weekend that saw six out of 10 matches cancelled due to Covid outbreaks.

The big issue impacting football is not illness caused by the Omicron variant, but the number of footballers who have refused to be vaccinated against the virus in England.

According to last month’s data with Football League clubs, only 75 per-cent of players had been either fully vaccinated, had a single jab or intend to be vaccinated.

The data for Premier League players who are fully vaccinated is believed to be at around 70 per-cent, but numerous clubs may be below 50 per-cent.

Now Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has urged clubs to to “strongly encourage” players to get vaccinated to try and save the season.

“We have collectively highlighted the importance of vaccination and it has never been more important,” he wrote in a letter to all 20 clubs, with around 70 per-cent of players fully vaccinated.

“Please strongly encourage those who are not fully vaccinated to become so and to get their booster.”

Any player who has not been vaccinated need to isolate if they come into close contact with a Covid case and with the Omicron variant ripping through Premier League clubs, the combination of confirmed cases and isolating players may soon bring down the curtain on the game in England.

These issues are not being replicated across Europe, with 98 per-cent of players fully vaccinated in Italy’s Serie A and their match schedule progressing as planned.

The vaccination rate among Germany’s Bundesliga players is at 94 per-cent, with authorities making it difficult for those who opt against taking the jab to lead normal lives.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich confirmed last month that they withheld the wages of the unvaccinated quintet of Serge Gnabry, Joshua Kimmich, Jamal Musiala, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Michael Cuisance after they were ruled out of action due to Covid-19 issues.

As has already happened in tennis, where all players need to be vaccinated before they are allowed to play in next month’s Australian Open, it could well become the case that we get to a point where Premier League footballers will only be able to continue their careers if they agree to take the vaccine.

It is an ultimatum we never believed would be contemplated, but the Premier League now needs help from players to avert a major crisis.