Championship games off after COVID-19 outbreaks at Bristol City, Luton Town

Two Championship matches scheduled for Saturday have been postponed after Bristol City and Luton Town reported COVID-19 outbreaks in their squads.

Published : Jan 02, 2021 11:30 IST

A view of Ashton Gate during a Championship contest on November 21. Bristol City was scheduled to play second-placed Brentford on Saturday. - GETTY IMAGES
A view of Ashton Gate during a Championship contest on November 21. Bristol City was scheduled to play second-placed Brentford on Saturday. - GETTY IMAGES
lightbox-info

A view of Ashton Gate during a Championship contest on November 21. Bristol City was scheduled to play second-placed Brentford on Saturday. - GETTY IMAGES

Two Championship matches scheduled for Saturday have been postponed after Bristol City and Luton Town reported COVID-19 outbreaks in their squads on Friday.

City was scheduled to play second-placed Brentford while Luton was set to host Queens Park Rangers. The positive tests come three days after Luton hosted City and beat it 2-1.

City said its players showed COVID-19 symptoms but could not test the entire squad and staff as the testing laboratory was closed with Friday being a New Year bank holiday.

This is City’s second major brush with COVID-19 after its Failand training ground was closed in November following a number of positive cases at the club.

ALSO READ | Five Man City players isolating after contracting COVID-19

Meanwhile, Luton said there were positive cases among its senior players, staff and immediate members of family which meant others who were in close contact had to go into self-isolation.

A number of games across divisions have been postponed in recent weeks due to COVID-19 outbreaks in clubs across the country, including those in the Premier League.

Three top flight matches were postponed in December after numerous positive cases at Newcastle United, Manchester City and Fulham.

The country is battling a new variant of the virus and over the past few weeks Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered millions of people to live under the strictest restrictions to curb its spread after case numbers rose sharply.

The United Kingdom has had nearly 2.5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and recorded over 73,500 deaths.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment