Covid: How sport is being affected by surge in cases
- Published
13 Premier League games have been called off in December due to Covid
A surge in Covid-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant is causing disruption to sporting events around the world.
Here's an overview of all the events affected this month:
26 December
FOOTBALL: Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira tests positive for Covid hours before their away match at Tottenham.
FOOTBALL: Hull City v Blackburn on 26 December becomes the latest EFL game to be postponed, while West Brom v Preston on 30 December was also called off.
FOOTBALL: Aston Villa v Leeds on 28 December is postponed.
FOOTBALL: Arsenal v Wolves on 28 December called off.
25 December
RUGBY UNION: Newcastle's Premiership match against Sale on 26 December has been cancelled because of an outbreak of Covid cases among the Sharks squad.
RUGBY UNION: Positive Covid cases in the Cardiff squad has caused the postponement of their United Rugby Championship game against Scarlets on 26 December.
FOOTBALL: Championship game between Luton and Bristol City, scheduled for 26 December, called off on Christmas Day because of Covid cases in the Hatters' squad.
FOOTBALL: Carlisle's League Two game with Rochdale at Brunton Park has been called off because of a Covid-19 outbreak in the home side's squad.
24 December
FOOTBALL: Premier League game between Burnley and Everton on 26 December is called off because of Covid cases and injuries in the Toffees squad.
FOOTBALL: Swansea City's Championship match against Luton, which was due to be on 29 December, has been called off because of Covid-19 cases in the Swans squad.
RUGBY UNION: The United Rugby Championship match between Ulster and Connacht on 26 December has been postponed because of a number of positive Covid-19 cases within the Ulster squad.
23 December
FOOTBALL: The Premier League announces it has postponed Liverpool's game against Leeds United and the match between Wolves and Watford. More EFL matches are also off.
22 December
FOOTBALL: The Scottish Premiership winter break is brought forward from 4 January and will begin after fixtures on 26 December.
21 December
ALL SPORT: Outdoor events in Scotland limited to 500 people, meaning most festive sport will be "effectively spectator-free".
FOOTBALL: Three Championship games on 26 December and eight more in the EFL are called off.
RUGBY UNION: The United Rugby Championship game between Munster and Leinster on 26 December is postponed because of Leinster's Covid cases.
20 December
ALL SPORT: Festive sport in Wales, including horse racing's Welsh Grand National, to be held behind closed doors.
FOOTBALL: Cardiff's home game against Coventry and Stoke's trip to Barnsley are both postponed in the Championship plus five scheduled matches in League Two are called off.
FOOTBALL: The Premier League and EFL chose to fulfil festive fixtures rather than introduce a 'circuit breaker' despite ongoing disruption caused by Covid-19 cases.
FOOTBALL: Premier League says there were a record 90 new positive Covid cases from tests on players and staff between 13 and 19 December.
RUGBY UNION: The United Rugby Championship match between Ospreys and Dragons scheduled for 26 December is called off because of Covid-19 cases.
TENNIS: Rafael Nadal tests positive for Covid-19 after returning home from the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.
19 December
BASKETBALL: The NBA postpones five games due to take place between 19 and 21 December, including two matches involving Brooklyn Nets.
18 December
FOOTBALL: Aston Villa's Premier League game against Burnley, due to be played on 18 December, is postponed.
FOOTBALL: Arsenal's Women's Super League game against Brighton, due to be played on 19 December, is postponed.
RUGBY UNION: Sale's match with Saracens in the Premier 15s, due to be played on 19 December, is called off after the visitors reported a number of Covid-19 cases.
17 December
AMERICAN FOOTBALL: The NFL postpones Cleveland Browns-Las Vegas Raiders, Seattle Seahawks-Los Angeles Rams and Washington Football Team-Philadelphia Eagles.
FOOTBALL: Manchester City's WSL game against Reading and Chelsea's match against West Ham, both due to be played on 19 December, are postponed.
FOOTBALL: 19 fixtures across the three divisions of the English Football League due to be played on 18 December are postponed.
RUGBY UNION: Seven European matches due to be played between French and British teams this weekend are postponed because of France's new travel rules.
TENNIS: The Battle of the Brits - an exhibition organised by Jamie Murray and featuring Andy Murray scheduled for 21 and 22 December - is postponed.
16 December
CRICKET: Australia Test captain Pat Cummins is ruled out of the second Ashes Test against England after being deemed a close contact to a positive case.
CRICKET: Three-match one-day series between Pakistan and West Indies, due to begin on 18 December, postponed until June 2022.
FOOTBALL: Leicester's home Premier League match against Tottenham is postponed.
FOOTBALL: Manchester United's home match with Brighton on Saturday is postponed.
FOOTBALL: Wales captain Gareth Bale is among a group of Real Madrid players to test positive.
FOOTBALL: Games postponed across all three divisions of the EFL, which announces tighter protocols and more regular testing.
FOOTBALL: Four more Premier League games are postponed, meaning half of the weekend's fixtures are off.
FOOTBALL: Chelsea boss Emma Hayes says the "worry and anxiety" of Covid-19 cases in her squad "played a major part" in their Women's Champions League defeat by Wolfsburg.
RUGBY: Montpellier awarded 28-0 win for Friday's scheduled Champions Cup game because of Leinster's Covid cases.
FORMULA 1: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc tests positive for a second time.
BASKETBALL: The National Basketball Association is to introduce stricter coronavirus protocols over the Christmas and New Year period as teams are left depleted by rising cases in North America.
15 December
FOOTBALL: Burnley's Premier League match with Watford is called off three hours before kick-off after an outbreak in the Hornets squad.
FOOTBALL: Leicester City's home game against Manchester City in the Women's Continental League Cup is postponed.
FOOTBALL: Saturday's Championship matches between Reading v Luton and Millwall v Preston are postponed.
RUGBY UNION: Saracens call off Saturday's European Challenge Cup game against Pau, with all players, coaches and support staff going into isolation.
14 December
ALL SPORT: 'Covid passes' are introduced in England for any event with more than 10,000 people.
FOOTBALL: Premier League reports 42 positive tests - the most recorded in the league over a seven-day period.
FOOTBALL: Manchester United postpone Premier League match against Brentford.
13 December
FOOTBALL: Manchester United shut down their Carrington training ground after a Covid-19 outbreak.
TENNIS: Britain's Emma Raducanu tests positive and withdraws from the Mubadala World Tennis Championships.
12 December
FOOTBALL: Sheffield United's Championship game with Queens Park Rangers is postponed because of an outbreak at QPR.
11 December
RUGBY UNION: Three Leinster players and a member of staff test positive before the side's Heineken Champions Cup win over Bath.
9 December
FOOTBALL: Tottenham's Europa Conference League match against Rennes is called off after a number of cases at Spurs. They also postpone their Premier League match against Brighton.
FOOTBALL: Premier League clubs are told to return to emergency Covid-19 measures.