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Football London
Football London
Sport
Lewis Pangratiou

Surprise problem facing Premier League ahead of Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham return to action

Premier League football's return to action could be hindered by a shortage of TV trucks caused as a result of the 24/7 coverage being given to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's funeral.

The Premier League made the decision to postpone all games at the weekend as Britain entered a 12-day mourning period. However, the DCMS' guidance ahead of the upcoming matches is that games are permitted to go ahead.

A statement read: "Our guidance will stay the same. There's no obligation to cancel as far as the government is concerned. But it's ultimately up to the Premier League and EFL to make those decisions."

READ MORE: Arsenal's Europa League clash with PSV in doubt due to concerns over lack of police resources

Topflight football is expected to return this coming weekend, but there's now a surprising concern to contend with. As reported by the Daily Mail, the Premier League's predominant rights holder, Sky Sports, are running out of the outside broadcast trucks required to deliver live coverage as they're currently being used by their sister channel, Sky News.

As the company are set to provide unprecedented coverage of events across the country in preparation for the Queen's funeral next Monday (September 19), they've put a strain on their resources.

Sky Sports are due to televise eight live football matches next weekend, beginning with Aston Villa vs Southampton on Friday evening, Tottenham vs Leicester the following day and ending with Brentford vs Arsenal as well as Chelsea's clash against Liverpool on Sunday. The shortage of TV trucks has emerged as an additional complicating factor during talks over football's resumption following last weekend's postponements.

Another obstacle to Premier League games is the current strain on police resources. Up to 10,000 officers will be deployed in London to help manage what is a huge security operation in the capital ahead of the funeral.

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