Crystal Palace’s Premier League clash at Selhurst Park against Manchester United may not happen this year after the game was postponed as a mark of respect to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
It was announced to the public on Thursday, September 8, at around 6pm (GMT) that Britain’s longest serving monarch had sadly passed away at Balmoral Castle in Scotland aged 96.
As a mark of respect to Her Majesty, the Premier League has made the decision to postpone all Premier League fixtures this weekend, including Leeds United vs Nottingham Forest on Monday evening. Crystal Palace were scheduled to face Manchester United at Selhurst Park on Sunday, which will now be rearranged to a later date.
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Richard Masters, Premier League Chief Executive said: “We and our clubs would like to pay tribute to Her Majesty’s long and unwavering service to our country.
“As our longest-serving monarch, she has been an inspiration and leaves behind an incredible legacy following a life of dedication. This is a tremendously sad time for not just the nation, but also for the millions of people around the world who admired her, and we join together with all those in mourning her passing.”
All fixtures across the EFL, National League, and grassroots football have also been cancelled. Now, the Premier League has the difficult task of finding a new date for all postponed matches.
Palace’s Premier League clash against Brighton next weekend has also been called off due to planned rail strikes. Although rail strikes have now been suspended in light of the Queen’s death, the fixture at the Amex Stadium remains postponed.
Therefore, the Premier League must rearrange two Palace fixtures. With this year’s World Cup kicking off in November and European and domestic competitions taking up most midweek slots, it is difficult to determine when these fixtures will be played.
An international break occurs later this month, which should rule out the possibility of postponed fixtures being arranged for after the weekend of Saturday, September 17, until the weekend of Saturday, October, 1.
Palace have at least four midweek slots open after that to play any of their postponed fixtures before the World Cup break on November 12. Against Brighton, the earliest opportunity for the fixture to be played is midweek commencing Monday, October 3, between Palace’s fixtures at home against Chelsea (October 1) and Leeds United (October 9).
Brighton’s Friday night clash away at Brentford on October 14 makes it unlikely for their fixture with Palace to be rearranged for that week. Both Albion and Palace have free slots in midweeks commencing October 24 and October 31.
However, Manchester United are fully booked up before the World Cup due to their Europa League and Carabao Cup commitments. All Premier League sides will return on Boxing Day and both Palace and United also have games scheduled for New Year’s Eve.
Therefore, it leaves very little room for the Premier League to rearrange Palace vs United for this year. If both sides are eliminated from the Carabao Cup before the fifth round, the earliest opportunity that the fixture could take place is the week commencing January 9.
If not, then the earliest free slot for both clubs would be midweek commencing January 16, between Palace’s Premier League fixtures with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (January 14) and at home against Newcastle United (January 21).
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