Inside the Premier League's Elaborate Measures to Curb Match Postponements Next Season

• The 2021/22 Premier League campaign was marred by the postponement of matches
• One such example was in the North London derby, which was postponed upon request from Arsenal
• Going forward, however, the Premier League is set to be stricter in the criteria used to postpone football games next season

The Premier League has taken a firm stance on match postponements ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

Going forward, matches will only be postponed on grounds of player unavailability under ‘truly exceptional circumstances.

As per the Premier League, starting from next season, clubs will also need to prove that they have taken all necessary steps to mitigate any issues to have a fixture rearranged.

The just-concluded Premier League campaign was severely hampered by several postponements of football matches, for one reason or the other.

In most cases, clubs claimed they lacked enough players to field for a fixture, largely due to COVID-19.

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This led to widespread criticism, with experts accusing some Premier League clubs of using loopholes to get their team off fixtures, especially during times where there seemed to be congestion,

The most notable such case was when the North London derby slated for January 2022 was postponed, with Arsenal claiming there were significant availabilities within their squad.

Tottenham were in particular surprised by the Premier League’s decision to have the match rescheduled, especially because Arsenal’s reasons were not related to COVID.

In the new stricter guidelines, a club will have to fulfill their fixture if they have 10 outfield players and a goalkeeper in the squad list.

Also, if a club has 15 contracted outfield players and a goalkeeper, the game should go on as planned

In the event a team has an injury crisis, full documentation of the players and their respective injuries have to be submitted.

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Ten Hag facing tough start as Man United boss

Meanwhile, Sports Brief reported of how It will be a tough start for new United boss Erik Ten Hag after the Red Devils endured a nightmare 2021/2022 season finishing with their lowest points of the Premier League era.

After their opening game against Brighton, United then travel to Brentford in the second game before facing Liverpool in their third game of the season.

United's first 10 matches of the campaign also include trips to Leicester and Everton as well as a home game vs Arsenal.