Manchester United were scheduled to take on Brentford tonight at 19:30 but fixture has been postponed.
Following PCR confirmation of positive LFT COVID-19 tests among the first-team staff and players, it would be ridiculous to allow the game to go ahead because the virus would only spread and led to further postponements in the Premier League.
This also comes after United were forced to close first-team operations at their Carrington training complex on Monday afternoon. A statement from the club read (via Sky News): “Given cancellation of training and disruption to the squad, and with the health of players and staff the priority, the club requested the match to be rearranged.
“The Premier League board took the decision to postpone based on guidance from medical advisors.
“Manchester United regrets the inconvenience caused to Brentford FC and to the fans of both clubs by COVID-19.”
While United requested the match to be rearranged, the Premier League left their decision until late on Monday night – minutes before midnight – which tells you exactly what they think of fans who had travel arrangements this morning as well as hotels booked in Brentford.
Ten to midnight and confirmation Brentford game is postponed. #mufc
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) December 13, 2021
This will bring disruption to the week for everyone, but as long as the players and staff are kept, we should see United back on the football pitch very soon.
A statement from Brentford added: “Following medical guidance, the Premier League board have postponed Tuesday night’s match against Manchester United due to the exceptional circumstances of an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak within the Manchester United squad.
“We appreciate that there will be many fans who will be inconvenienced with the fixture postponement and we apologise for the disruption, which was out of our control, but we respect the Premier League’s decision and acknowledge that the health and safety of both clubs’ players and staff must always come first.
❌Brentford vs Manchester United has been postponed pic.twitter.com/2UQfo3cazp
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) December 14, 2021
Footage courtesy of Sky Sports
“We wish everyone affected a speedy recovery and look forward to hosting Manchester United at the Brentford Community Stadium in the New Year.
“The rearranged match details will be confirmed and communicated in due course. All match tickets will remain valid for the rearranged fixture.”
Moreover, the Premier League announced 42 new positive cases among club players and staff on Monday. That was the highest weekly figure recorded since they started releasing testing results in May last year.
The Premier League said: “The league can today confirm that between Monday, 6 December and Sunday, 12 December, 3,805 players and club staff were tested for Covid-19. Of these, there were 42 new positive cases.”
This comes after Tottenham were forced to call off their last two games due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the squad bubble.
