Chelsea's Premier League match against Fulham this weekend has been postponed, with the following match against Liverpool also in doubt.
In a meeting on Friday morning, stakeholders came to the decision to delay the seventh round of games to pay tribute Queen Elizabeth II following her passing. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport had earlier announced the sports had no obligation to cancel or postpone events, but acknowledged they may wish to consider such action on the day of the State Funeral. The latter could coincide with Chelsea vs Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.
The division has yet to make an announcement any further in advance that the coming gameweek, however.
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A statement released by the Premier League read: "At a meeting this morning, Premier League clubs paid tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. To honour her extraordinary life and contribution to the nation, and as a mark of respect, this weekend's Premier League match round will be postponed, including Monday evening's game.
"Further updates regarding Premier League fixtures during the period of mourning will be provided in due course."
The 2022/23 has already seen fixture scheduling difficulties with the season starting earlier before having a break in November and December to accommodate the World Cup. Chelsea are already set to have 13 matches across a six-week period once October gets underway with no room to facilitate any games that need rearranging.
The likelihood is that the Premier League waits until action once again gets underway following the international tournament, and while the fixture list remains hectic to start with from Boxing Day, some gaps do open up when January arrives.
At the moment, Chelsea have three Premier League fixtures scheduled in the month, though there will also potentially be two FA Cup rounds to accommodate in the calendar should the Blues progress. Currently, the midweek periods of January 4/5th (if it is deemed not to close proximity for those playing January 2nd), 10/11th, 17/18 and 24/25th remain free for games to be scheduled.
However if Chelsea continue to progress in the Carabao Cup, the 10/11th and 24/25th could be come unviable, while there is also the possibility for FA Cup replays - with replays being scrapped from the fifth round onwards.
If the game is not rearranged until February, further decisions will have to be made regarding FA Cup, Champions League and EFL Cup dates. Should the Blues progress from the group stages of the Champions League, the knockout stages will get underway either on February 14th/15th or February 21st/22nd, depending on the draw.
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