The number of verified in the omicron strain in the UK has been rising at a dizzying pace in recent days, and football has also been hit.
As of Saturday, originally made up of six Premier League games, there is only one left - that is between Leeds United and Arsenal - after all the rest have been postponed.
In all, six out of ten Premier League games have been postponed in the 18th round, and in 19 of the top three leagues, 19 of 36 games have been postponed.
The last of which was the meeting between Burnley and Aston Villa, which was canceled only about two hours before it opened due to an outburst at the team from Birmingham.
The current situation, which comes just before what is supposed to be the busiest period in English football's calendar, has led to an emergency meeting between the league and team owners and coaches tomorrow who are expected to request an initiated holiday during Christmas.
"I do not think we want to stay in a situation where half of the games take place and half are canceled," Newcastle coach Eddie Howe said this week, adding, "The league is hurt by such inequality."
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta also expressed his opinion: "We need to better understand why games are canceled and what needs to happen for them to take place. Fairness must be maintained."
The Spaniard's remarks relate to the postponement of the game between Burnley and Villa, which caught all the sides unprepared.
Burnley fans were already in the stadium when the announcement of the postponement of the game came out about two hours before the opening whistle, and Aston Villa were forced to issue an apology;
"We are sorry for the inconvenience and inconvenience, but we acted as quickly as we could."
A Liverpool fan disguised as Santa outside Wolves Stadium.
Will the gates of the pitches be closed ?, Photo: Getty Images
This is exactly one of the issues that will come up for discussion tomorrow.
The corona protocol is not clear enough, there are no verified numbers of one kind or another that lead to cancellation, and there is a great deal of uncertainty and confusion.
So far, every rejection decision has been made individually, in the moment of truth, and lacks uniformity.
For example: a team can announce six positives, but the game will take place as usual because it involves faculty players and team members.
In contrast, three positive goalkeepers in one team will lead to a postponement of the game.
"It's hard to go on like this"
"It's not in our hands of course," said Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, "but it's important to have transparency and clarity, these are very important things now".
Jürgen Klopp also referred to the situation and said: "It is very difficult to continue playing like this, but if you postpone 6-5 games now, where do you put them in the crowded schedule?".
In England, the low rate of vaccinated players (about 65 percent) is cited as the reason for the current situation.
In Spain, Italy, Germany and France, the vaccination rate ranges from 90 to 95 percent, and there are clear protocols.
In Spain, for example, 30 players are needed on the roster to play, in France they will soon go on a training break, and in Germany the number of fans on the pitches is limited.
The meeting tomorrow will discuss this matter, the minutes and the existence of the games that have been canceled in recent days.
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