Just in: Newcastle versus Bournemouth match could be postponed

Following Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s death at Balmoral Castle on Thursday,

all of this weekend’s fixtures were postponed.

The Cherries were scheduled to host Brighton at Vitality Stadium on

Saturday and will now travel to Newcastle United on Saturday, September 17 (3PM).

The Queen’s burial is scheduled for Monday, September 19,

and will not conflict with any Premier League games due

to the forthcoming international break.

As a show of respect, the Premier League, EFL,

and National League all postponed their matches,

while the funeral is expected to draw a large police presence.

Many other sports, like rugby and cricket, took place this weekend,

with massive tributes held at various grounds.

The DCMS instructions provided no duty to cancel the fixtures,

and the Premier League and sporting organizations will make the final choice on next week’s games.

Clubs hope to receive the decision within the following few days,

taking into account the restricted availability of midweek slots for rescheduling the postponed matches.

Calling off matches in a season already truncated by the winter World Cup,

which kicks off in Qatar on November 20, makes finding slots no easy

There are no available dates this year. Every midweek from the next

international break until the commencement of the World Cup is utilized.

English football resumes midweek on December 20 – just two days after

the World Cup final – with the fourth round of the EFL Cup, followed by

three blocks of Premier League games over Christmas and New Year.

This list demonstrates how tight the schedule is in 2023, with only

three vacant midweeks scheduled into the last day of the

Premier League season on Sunday, May 28.