Premier League and EFL postpone fixtures following death of Queen Elizabeth II

The Premier League and EFL have made the call as a mark of respect

The Premier League and EFL have confirmed that they have decided to postpone this weekend's fixtures following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday evening that he Queen had passed away peacefully at her Balmoral residence. In response to the news, sports organisations discussed the possibility of postponing the weekend's sporting events on Friday morning, having received guidance from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The Premier League released a short statement explaining they had chosen to postpone all fixtures scheduled to take place this weekend as a mark of respect. The EFL, who had already postponed two games scheduled for Friday night, released a similar statement. 'At a meeting this morning, Premier League clubs paid tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,' the statement read. 'To honour her extraordinary life and contribution to the nation, and as a mark of respect, this weekend's Premier League match round will be postponed, including Monday evening's game.' https://twitter.com/premierleague/status/1568185317169188864 https://twitter.com/EFL_Comms/status/1568185730752561156 Official guidance was publicly released shortly after the meeting held by DCMS on Friday morning. It made clear there was no obligation to postpone matches during the official mourning period, but said that sports may choose to switch the timings of games on the day of her funeral. A final decision as to whether this weekend's fixtures should be postponed was left with the game's organisers.

'The decision as to whether sporting fixtures continue to go ahead is at the discretion of organisers,' a DCMS statement read.

'Organisers may wish to consider using black armbands and observing a silence before matches are played.'

European games involving British teams went ahead as scheduled on Thursday night. Arsenal, who were playing a Europa League game away in Zurich when the news was confirmed, held a minute's silence at half-time. A statement from the EFL did, however, confirm that its two Friday night fixtures - Burnley vs Norwich in the Championship and Tranmere Rovers vs Stockport in League Two - had been rescheduled as a mark of respect. Away from football, the England and Wales Cricket Board also confirmed on Thursday evening that there would be no play at The Oval on Friday in England's Test Match with South Africa.