Tottenham v Crystal Palace: Eagles boss Patrick Vieira self-isolating
- Published
Crystal Palace said the game against Tottenham would go ahead on Sunday
Crystal Palace were without Patrick Vieira for Sunday's defeat by Tottenham after the manager tested positive for coronavirus.
The club made the announcement less than three hours before the 15:00 GMT kick-off, adding that assistant manager Osian Roberts would take charge.
On Friday, Vieira said the club had "a couple of cases" of Covid-19.
It is understood a request from Palace that Sunday's game be postponed was rejected by the Premier League.
"We can confirm that Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira is self-isolating after returning a positive test for Covid-19, and will be absent from the touchline for today's match against Spurs," the club said.
Palace ended up losing 3-0 to Spurs in a game that saw winger Wilfried Zaha sent off.
"It was late yesterday [Saturday] evening that the results came through," Roberts said. "We were all tested."
He added: "I don't know how many we had with Covid, some returning from Covid, close contacts, injuries, but ultimately you saw that we were short of options on the bench."
Roberts also said: "The good thing about the way we prepare is that we do that as a collective.
"There was no stone unturned. It would be true to say everything ran like normal, except Patrick not being there as our leader leading things on the day will always be something that we miss because we need him there.
"But we got on with it the best we could."
Three other Premier League fixtures on 26 December were also called off because of coronavirus: Liverpool v Leeds, Wolves v Watford and Burnley v Everton. Aston Villa v Leeds on Tuesday is also now off.
Aston Villa faced Chelsea without head coach Steven Gerrard after he tested positive for Covid-19 too.
In total, 14 games in England's top flight have been postponed in December because of the virus.
The most recent round of testing of top-flight players and staff revealed a record 90 positive tests, but Premier League clubs decided on Monday not to make any changes to the festive schedule.
At the meeting, clubs were advised that if they have 13 fit players, plus a goalkeeper, they should fulfil their games.
Following a meeting between managers and the Premier League about coronavirus on Thursday, Vieira was one of several managers to voice concern, saying he "didn't understand what the conclusion" was, while Spurs boss Antonio Conte said it was like talking to a brick wall.
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