Filed under: Championship, League One, League Two, Premier League, Football
With violent disturbances spreading from London to other areas of England, there are increasing fears of matches being postponed over the opening weekend of the Premier League season.With resources stretched to keep order in cities, hosting sporting events has not been the priority for the police this week. England's friendly with the Netherlands along with four Carling Cup ties were the first fixtures cancelled.
Now officials from the Premier League and Football League will monitor the unrest before making decisions two days before the top-flight campaign starts on which matches will go ahead.
Matches in London were thought to be the most at risk following three nights of violence, although any match could be under threat if staged near flashpoints.
"The Premier League and Football League are saddened by the recent incidents of civil unrest and the effect it is having on local communities," read a statement from the two bodies.
"We are in on-going discussions with our London-based clubs, the Metropolitan Police and statutory authorities, in regard to the staging of the coming weekend's fixtures in the capital.
"The Metropolitan Police has conveyed to us the dynamic nature of the current situation and with that in mind all parties will review the situation on Thursday and make a further public statement at that time.
"With the information currently available to us there is no reason to think any matches outside of London will be affected.
"We are conscious of the need to keep fans informed of any developments and will, of course, keep them as up-to-date as possible through club, league and media channels."
The statement was released a few hours after England's clash at Wembley was postponed, with players sent back to their clubs after a training session together at their London Colney base.
It has been reported that the match may have gone ahead behind closed doors but the match would have little benefit for either team without a crowd.
Cancelling Premier League games would cause fixture congestion later in the season, with most of the early weeks of the season unavailable for rearranged fixtures due to European games or domestic cup ties.
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