LONDON (Reuters) - COVID-19 cases and injuries at Everton forced the Premier League to accept the club’s request for a postponement and called of their Boxing Day fixture away at Burnley, the league said.
It is the 13th Premier League game to be called off due to COVID-19 and third Boxing Day fixture to be postponed after Liverpool v Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers v Watford were called off on Thursday due to cases in the visiting teams.
Everton manager Rafa Benitez said that his club had a request to postpone Sunday’s match rejected by the Premier League, adding it was unfair as he had six injuries and five players down with COVID-19.
“The Board reviewed the club’s request today to postpone the match following further injuries to their squad,” the Premier League said in a statement.
The Premier League only grants a postponement if a club has fewer than 14 players -- 13 outfield players and one goalkeeper -- available, with the board examining requests on a case-by-case basis.
Both clubs have already had matches postponed this month with Burnley now staring at a fixture pile-up with four games in hand after Boxing Day.
The East Lancashire club had games against Watford and Aston Villa postponed due to COVID-19 outbreaks while a home clash against Tottenham Hotspur was called off less than two hours before kickoff due to heavy snowfall.