Coronavirus: Chelsea have request to postpone Wolves game rejected by Premier League | Football News

Chelsea have had a request to postpone their game against Wolves on Sunday rejected by the Premier League.

The application was made on Saturday evening and turned down on Sunday morning ahead of the 2pm kick-off for the game at Molineux.

Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner, Callum Hudson-Odoi and the injured Ben Chilwell all tested positive for coronavirus ahead of the Blues’ 1-1 home draw against Everton in the league on Thursday.

It is understood there has been one further positive case overnight.

A Chelsea spokesman said: “We are deeply disappointed that our application was rejected as we felt we had a strong case for the postponement of today’s match on the grounds of players’ health and safety.”

Six of this weekend’s Premier League fixtures have already been postponed due to Covid-19 outbreaks within clubs.

The Premier League has said it “assesses applications on a case-by-case basis” and decisions are “based on existing rules and Covid-19 postponement guidance issued to all clubs”.

Arsenal’s 4-1 victory at injury-hit Leeds was the only game to take place on Saturday after Aston Villa’s home game against Burnley was called off just over two hours before kick-off due to increased positive cases within the hosts’ squad.

In total, outbreaks at various clubs have forced the postponement of 10 Premier League games so far.

Sunday’s other matches between Newcastle v Manchester City and Tottenham v Liverpool – both live on Sky Sports – remain set to go ahead as planned.

On Thursday, Brentford head coach Thomas Frank called for this weekend’s round of fixtures to be called off in a bid to enable clubs to deal with the outbreaks.

However, the Premier League has so far resisted calls for a halt to the competition, with talks scheduled to take place between clubs and team managers from Monday

Ahead of the Wolves game, Chelsea trail league leaders Manchester City by four points after a run of just two wins from their last five games in the competition.

Chelsea are due to visit Brentford in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday, before a scheduled trip to face Aston Villa on Boxing Day, live on Sky Sports.

Covid cancellations: Which PL games are off?

Brighton vs Tottenham – Sunday December 12, Premier League

Brentford vs Man Utd – Tuesday December 14, Premier League

Burnley vs Watford – Wednesday December 15, Premier League

Leicester vs Tottenham – Thursday December 16, Premier League

Man Utd vs Brighton – Saturday December 18, Premier League

Southampton vs Brentford – Saturday December 18, Premier League

Watford vs Crystal Palace – Saturday December 18, Premier League

West Ham vs Norwich – Saturday December 18, Premier League

Aston Villa vs Burnley – Saturday December 18, Premier League

Everton vs Leicester – Sunday December 19, Premier League

What are the Premier League rules around postponements?

The 2021/22 Premier League handbook includes Covid protocols, and states the Premier League board will “only permit the rearrangement or postponement of a league match in exceptional circumstances”.

The board make calls on a case-by-case basis, and by way of guidance the Premier League says permission for a postponement will not be granted if a club have 14 or more players from their squad list available.

In a statement, the Premier League added it would “assess a number of factors, including the ability of a club to field a team; the status, severity and potential impact of the Covid-19 outbreak at the club; and the ability of the players to safely prepare for and play the match.

“The Board must also consider the wider risks to the opposition and other people the club may come into contact with.”