Tottenham’s home clash against Fulham has been postponed due to COVID-19, the Premier League announced on Wednesday.
The match at Tottenham Hotspur was called into question on Tuesday, after Fulham returned a series of positive COVID-19 tests earlier this week. The match was scheduled to start at 18:00 (13:00 ET).
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A Premier League statement read: “The match between Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham, which is to be played at 18:00 GMT tonight, has been postponed following a meeting of the Premier League Council this afternoon.
“Fulham have applied to the Premier League Council to rearrange the equipment after a significant increase in positive COVID-19 cases, as well as a number of players showing symptoms today.
“The Premier League council has consulted its health advisers and the decision to postpone the game has been taken as a precaution and with the health of players and staff as a priority. The group will be retested immediately.
“With a small number of positive tests in the vast majority of clubs, the Premier League continues to have full confidence in its COVID-19 protocols and to be able to continue to play our programs as scheduled.
“The league wishes COVID-19 a safe and quick recovery and will rearrange the postponed equipment between Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham in a timely manner.”
Four hours before the match was launched, the head of Spurs, Jose Mourinho, said that it is still dark regarding the state of the match.
He wrote on Instagram: “Match at 6 pm … We still don’t know if we will play. The best league in the world.”
It comes after the Premier League received a total of 18 positive COVID-19 tests on Tuesday – the highest recorded in the test program.
A Tottenham statement said: “The Premier League has informed us of the decision this afternoon, with Fulham calling for a postponement based on the number of positive COVID-19 cases among players and their staff.
“Everyone at Tottenham Hotspur sends their best wishes to Fulham for a safe and speedy recovery to all those affected.”
Fulham also issued a statement: “This decision follows discussions with the Premier League and advice from Public Health England.
“Those players and employees who gave positive results self-isolated in accordance with the recommendations of the British government and the Premier League. We wish the players and staff who gave positive results a safe and quick recovery.”
It becomes the third Premier League game to be postponed this season after Manchester City’s Everton clash was canceled on Monday. Newcastle United’s clash against Aston Villa was postponed earlier this month.
Mourinho’s Spour team had the opportunity to climb to third place, but will remain in sixth place while Fulham remain in the relegation zone.
Fulham boss Scott Parker was forced to work from home over the weekend when they played at Southampton, while isolating himself after a positive COVID-19 test in his household.
However, he was due to return to the shelter on Wednesday after a negative test over the weekend.
Reuters information was included in this report.