The moment was poignant. At the end of a minute of silence impeccably respected by the supporters of the two teams, the tens of thousands of spectators gathered at the stadium, united in the testimony of their respect, sang with one voice this God Save The King that we e had heard more since the accession to the throne of HM Elizabeth II, seventy years ago. The Queen was dead, long live the King.
And once the tribute paid to a sovereign for whom even the British Republicans (much more numerous than one would think) had a sincere affection, sport resumed its rights. We applaud. We laugh. We drank. We shared the pleasure of attending a match of the highest level. And no one, absolutely no one, found fault with it.
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Unfortunately, it was not to attend a football match that these spectators were gathered, but to a cricket test match between England and South Africa, current world number 1 in the specialty. It wasn’t Wembley or Old Trafford, it was The Oval in south London.
And what was allowed to fans of cricket – but also of rugby, league football, golf and horse racing, the only sport for which Elizabeth developed a real passion – was forbidden to those who, last weekend, were getting ready to cheer on their football clubs. Or to play themselves. All matches, men and women, which were to be played under the aegis of the FA, the Premier League, the Football League and the National League (Division 5 and below) from Friday September 9 to Sunday September 11 inclusive have been postponed at a later date. Which ? We don’t know yet.
Respect for the minute of silence
Even the matches of wards and chicks have not escaped the diktat of the authorities of British football. Two amateur clubs who had the misfortune to ignore orders from Wembley last weekend – Sheffield International FC and Byron House FC – have been threatened with “severest penalties” for their “despicable behavior”. These soccer players definitely don’t respect anything! But on the same day, weren’t there 40,000 cheering on the English cricketers?
Perhaps football intended to lead by example? The statement issued by the Premier League twenty-four hours before the scheduled kick-off at Bournemouth-Brighton gave the reason for the postponement of the seventh day of the championship the desire “to honor the extraordinary life and contribution to the nation [de SM la Reine Elizabeth II]”. It was a “mark of respect”, we were assured.
The problem is that many leaks immediately made it clear that this famous “respect” was just an empty pretext, and that the motivations of the FA and the Premier League were of a completely different order. The potentates of English football feared excesses, that’s all.
It’s that football fans are “different”. Treating them like other sports treat their fans, which is to say with trust, respect – yes – and dignity would never occur to suits and ties who have no problem taking their money . In the paranoid vision that these people have of stadium regulars, the fear of seeing even a few individuals breaking the minute’s silence in memory of the Queen (as certain Celtic supporters did not fail to do during their Champions League match, which surprised absolutely no one) was strong enough to punish millions of others who, they too, asked for nothing better than to salute their sovereign.
God knows, however, how English football crowds know how to police their silence when it is appropriate. It is to believe that these gentlemen – because they are all gentlemen
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A calendar that didn’t need that
And if the PL and the FA hoped to conciliate the good graces of public opinion by putting football offside for a weekend, it has failed. Peter Crouch and Gary Neville, two voices listened to in the world of English football, were among the first to be surprised at the disfavor treatment their sport was receiving. And what regarding those fans who had already put their hands in their pockets to buy their tickets for the match, their train tickets and their hotel rooms? They might as well not exist; and that they are not counting on a refund.
Moreover, as we had feared from the outset, the ten PL matches last weekend will not be the only victims of the surge of “patriotism” which has fevered the kingdom of Charles III to the point of absurdity, point that British Airways has canceled a hundred flights scheduled to take off next Monday, for the simple reason that the noise of aircraft engines would break the silence of the day of the funeral of the late sovereign.
The presence of hundreds of thousands of people ready to queue for some five miles for the privilege of walking around Her Majesty The Queen’s coffin has forced the London police to deploy much of their resources to maintaining the order and safety of visitors, so much so that there are not enough officers available to ensure the desired police presence at certain football matches.
This is why and how Arsenal had to postpone their Europa League match once morest PSV to Thursday October 20, which forced the Premier League to move Manchester City’s visit to the Emirates, scheduled for October 19. When the two current leaders of the English championship will meet, no one knows yet.
This is why and how three meetings which were to be played this weekend also bore the brunt of the exceptional deployment of the police around the events related to the funeral of Elizabeth II: Brighton-Palace, Manchester United-Leeds and Chelsea-Liverpool, in other words two historic derbies and what was to be the headliner of this eighth day.
However, given the compression of the 2022-23 calendar – the number one cause of which is the holding of the World Cup in Qatar at the height of the domestic seasons -, finding suitable dates to reschedule these matches postponed due to national mourning – and lack of resources – is likely to cause some serious headaches for the FA and the Premier League.
As for rugby and other sports, rest assured: everything will go as planned.
Football is apart, that’s all.
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