Premier League chief Richard Masters writes to all 20 top-flight clubs asking them to 'strongly encourage' players to get vaccinated amid a recent surge in Covid cases and matches being postponed because of Omicron

  • Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has written to all 20 clubs
  • He has urged clubs to encourage their players to get the jab if they haven't yet
  • A recent surge in cases has led to a large number of games being postponed

By Kieran Lynch For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

The Premier League has urged clubs to encourage their players to get vaccinated against Covid-19. 

A surge in cases due to the omicron variant has significantly impacted the top-flight, with more than half of this weekend's games being postponed.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has stressed the importance of vaccination for footballers in a letter to all 20 clubs.


As reported by the Athletic, he wrote to clubs: 'We have collectively highlighted the importance of vaccination and it has never been more important.

'This is not only for the obvious benefit of protecting against COVID, but government guidance now dictates that unvaccinated close contacts of positive COVID cases must isolate for 10 days, and there is no exemption or exception to this.

Premier League chief Richard Masters has urged clubs to encourage players to get the jab

Premier League chief Richard Masters has urged clubs to encourage players to get the jab

Last figures in October revealed that 68 per cent of players had not been fully jabbed

Last figures in October revealed that 68 per cent of players had not been fully jabbed

The recent surge in Covid-19 cases has led to top-flight games being called off

The recent surge in Covid-19 cases has led to top-flight games being called off

'Please strongly encourage those who are not fully vaccinated to become so, and the many who are, to get their booster, which appears to be the only significant layer of protection against the Omicron variant.'

Masters also insisted that everyone should be 'aware of the importance of completing the season, while maintaining the safety of players, staff and fans'.

Brighton's lunchtime trip to Manchester United was the first match to be postponed this weekend before, Southampton v Brentford, Watford v Crystal Palace, West Ham United v Norwich City and Everton v Leicester City were later called off by the Premier League in one swoop.

Aston Villa were scheduled to face Burnley at 3pm on Saturday - only for the West Midlands side to announce on social media the game had been called off just two hours and twenty minutes before kick-off.  

Clubs including Manchester United have been forced to close their training grounds

Clubs including Manchester United have been forced to close their training grounds

Tottenham's game against Brighton last weekend was postponed, with mid-week games involving Brentford and Manchester United, Burnley v Watford and Leicester v Spurs also called off.  

Other teams have played on, although clubs including Liverpool and Chelsea have had a number of positive cases.  

One in four EFL players do not want to be vaccinated, while the Premier League revealed in October that only 68 per cent of players were double-vaccinated.

Clubs are offering a booster jab to all players, but cannot force them to accept it, nor take the first two jabs. 

Jurgen Klopp believes the vaccination should be mandatory from a 'moral point of view'

Jurgen Klopp believes the vaccination should be mandatory from a 'moral point of view'

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been one of the most outspoken figures in football about the jab, believing that a vaccination should be mandatory from a 'moral point of view'.

The German used supporters to 'ignore lies and misinformation' surrounding the jab and to trust medical experts.   

Premier League shareholders are set to meet on Monday amid calls from some clubs to shutdown the season after a tumultuous week involving multiple outbreaks in teams.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe, meanwhile, questioned whether it is fair for some teams to carry on playing while other teams cannot fulfil their games due to their respective outbreaks

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe questioned the fairness for games to go ahead and others not

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe questioned the fairness for games to go ahead and others not

'I don't think we want half the games played and half not played,' Howe said. 'The league really loses something if it becomes disjointed in terms of games played.

'When you start losing players to Covid then the worry is the competition becomes slightly unfair and I don't think anyone wants to see that.

'A decision needs to be made to ensure integrity is maintained in the competition. I think it is on a knife edge.

'People want to see a fair league and not disparity in games and players missing. I'm desperate to continue the programme myself but the welfare of the players and supporters has to come first.'

HOW OMICRON COVID OUTBREAKS HAVE THE PREMIER LEAGUE ON EDGE

Arsenal

Mikel Arteta revealed Arsenal had been forced to close their London Colney training ground after reporting a 'few cases' among players and staff following their 2-0 victory over West Ham United. Defender Pablo Mari and midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga were among those to test positive and therefore missed the win at Leeds. 

Aston Villa 

Forced to postpone Premier League clash with Burnley on December 18 just two hours before kick-off after an increased amount of positive Covid-19 test results within their playing squad. 

Brentford

The Bees have 13 cases among players and staff – the club are now calling for a circuit-breaker szhutdown to help clubs recover. Their training ground has been closed and as a result their trip to Southampton on Saturday has been postponed. 

Leicester

Would have been without several players for Tottenham's visit on Thursday due to Covid before the game was postponed - despite initial calls being rejected - hours before kick-off.  Their training ground was closed on Thursday morning to contain the outbreak but given they have an insufficient number of players available, their weekend trip to Everton is also off.

Manchester United

Case numbers are currently unknown but a large outbreak saw their game with Brentford postponed. Calls to have Saturday's game with Brighton to be postponed were accepted on Thursday, and it has emerged that United would have had only seven available players for that game such is the impact of the outbreak. Their training complex is closed until Tuesday at least, in order to reduce the risk of transmission.

Brighton

Had a request for Wednesday's game with Wolves to be postponed rejected by the Premier League following an outbreak at the club. Graham Potter confirmed there were 'three to four' positive cases before the game, which they lost 1-0. Saturday's game with Manchester United has now been postponed.

Norwich

Manager Dean Smith was facing an anxious wait to discover the full extent of the outbreak at the club. Josh Sargent, Lukas Rupp and Pierre Lees-Melou were absent from the squad that faced Aston Villa in midweek for 'Covid-related' reasons, but while Christos Tzolis is the only confirmed player to test positive, more positive test results have been returned. The Canaries had discussions with the Premier League over Saturday's clash with West Ham and it was agreed to postpone as they have an insufficient number of players available. 

Watford

Saw their midweek game with Burnley postponed just hours before kick-off. With their training ground closed, their home match with Crystal Palace has now been confirmed as postponed too. Case numbers are currently unknown but they do not sufficient players to fulfil the Palace match.

Tottenham

Spurs were the first Premier League club to be hit by the Omicron variant last week and saw games against Brighton and Rennes postponed after cases reached double digits among players and staff. Those who tested positive for the virus are expected to return in the next couple of days after completing their 10-day self-isolation period. Spurs' clash with Leicester on Thursday was postponed despite initial demands to have the game called off were rejected, but Sunday's clash with Liverpool is due to go ahead.

Chelsea

After Brentford, the Blues became the latest club to be hit by a Covid outbreak, after it was confirmed ahead of their game with Everton that four more first-team players had tested positive. Mateo Kovacic was the first Chelsea player to get the virus in the outbreak this week, with Romelu Lukaku, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Timo Werner and Ben Chilwell following. Neverthless, their game with Everton went ahead and was drawn. They are due to play Wolves on Sunday.

Liverpool

It was confirmed just an hour before kick-off against Newcastle on Thursday night that Fabinho, Curtis Jones and Virgil van Dijk were all out having tested positive for Covid. They won the game 3-1 and are due to play Tottenham on Sunday. 

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Premier League chief writes to clubs urging them to encourage players to take the jab

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