Should Premier League games keep getting cancelled?

More than 20 Premier League games have been called off this season because of coronavirus, but some say the matches should still be played.

Premier League rules say teams must play if they have 13 outfield players and one goalkeeper available.

But there are criticisms that teams are using coronavirus as an excuse not to play a weaker line-up in important matches.

Should Premier League teams have to forfeit matches and award points to the opposition if they can't play? Let us know in the comments.

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville, now a television pundit, tweeted: "What started out as postponements due to a pandemic has now become about clubs not having their best team.

Arguing that teams have large squads which include reserve and youth team players, Neville continued: "The Premier League must stop this now, draw a line in the sand and say all games go ahead unless you have an exceptional amount of Covid cases. It's wrong."

A huge Premier League game between north-London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal was cancelled last Sunday.

The Tottenham manager, Antonio Conte said the Premier League's decision to postpone the match was "very strange".

But the Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta's claimed his side had "many players unavailable across our squad as a result of Covid, injuries and players away with their countries at AFCON (Africa Cup of Nations)".

The Arsenal and Tottenham mangers both disagree about their game being postponed

However, the Spurs boss believed the game should've been played. Conte says that players absent through injuries that aren't Covid, or unavailable because of AFCON isn't a good enough reason to call off a game.

"My feeling is that when there is a situation to play, we have to play and not postpone games for injuries or for international duty.

"We have a big problem to solve with Covid but only about this situation can you decide to postpone," Conte added.

Former Aston Villa striker and BBC Sport pundit Dion Dublin says: "We just don't know what's going on. From the outside looking in, it looks like clubs are thinking they want a stronger side for a certain game and so they're asking for it to be called off. It's a confusing situation."

Explaining the Premier League's decision making when calling off games, BBC Sport's Simon Stone says: "There is a lot of noise around the recent Premier League postponements but the league itself feels it is acting properly.

"Firstly, there has to be a Covid element to the request. Secondly, it was the managers themselves around Christmas who were complaining that, with reduced squads, players were more likely to get injured. So, in the Premier League's view, injuries are Covid related.

"Clearly, those away at the Africa Cup of Nations cannot play either, so meeting the threshold of 13 outfield players plus a goalkeeper is not always straightforward.

"There will come a point when clubs are told they have to play. The season must finish on 22 May so games cannot keep being called off."

Other sports

Rugby League clubs will be ordered to forfeit matches in the event of Covid outbreaks in 2022 under new rules prepared by the RFL

Another sport that has been impacted by postponements due to Covid is Rugby League.

For this season clubs are now being told they will have to forfeit matches in the event of Covid outbreaks among their players.

The sport's governing body the Rugby Football League (RFL) has written to all clubs informing them that failure to play a fixture in the new season will result in the match being awarded to the opposition with a score of 48-0.

Should Premier League teams have to forfeit matches and award points to the opposition if they can't play? Let us know in the comments.