Tottenham vs Crystal Palace goes ahead amid fury after Premier League decision

Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace goes ahead on Boxing Day despite a Covid outbreak within the Eagles' camp and a request for cancellation.

Fans of the two clubs finally had the news confirmed on Sunday morning, less than four hours before kickoff at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

That confirmation came over 13 hours after initial premature reports on Christmas Day that it would not go ahead - leading to anger and frustration among supporters from both clubs.

Patrick Vieira had announced on Friday that they were dealing with "a couple of cases" in his pre-match press conference, only to see that number grow on Saturday.

It's understood four players and four staff members tested positive on Christmas Day, prompting the club to tell players to stay at home rather than meeting up at the team hotel as usual ahead of away matches.

But news had already leaked that Palace believed the game would not go ahead leading to widespread speculation and a deafening silence from both sides and the Premier League.

After talks between senior Palace chiefs they contacted the Premier League to request a postponement in the early hours of Sunday.

Amid the speculation. the Premier League told Palace they required the club to do further tests on Sunday morning to see if the outbreak had grown further.

Their message was that, if it hadn't, the game would go ahead, having recently outlined their stance that games would be played if club's had 13 outfield players and one goalkeeper from their squad list available, or if "appropriately experienced Under 21s" are available.

Throughout, Spurs - who have already had three games, two due to Covid, postponed - remained hopeful that the game would go ahead, and although senior club officials contacted the club's supporters' trust to keep them abreast of the situation, the club tweeted at 8.30am as it normally would on a match day.

Boss Antonio Conte and his players remained at Hotspur Way as they awaited word from the Premier League, while increasingly frustrated supporters did likewise with no official news forthcoming.

Spurs continued to post on social media as if nothing was happening, wishing Hugo Lloris a happy 35th birthday and posting a video of five of their favourite goals against Palace in recent years.

At 11am, fresh reports announced the game was likely to go ahead with the Premier League unsatisfied by Palace's late application.

The lack of any official clarification from all parties was labelled "insulting" to supporters.

Ex-Spurs defender Ramon Vega took aim at the Premier League, tweeting: "Still not learning and no consideration at all to the Fans!!"

Finally, at 1134am, Palace declared: "We can confirm that our match away at Spurs is going ahead today as scheduled (15:00 GMT)." It was their first public message on the matter on their social media feeds - none of which had so much as hinted at any possibility of a cancellation.

At 11:40am, Spurs also confirmed the game would go ahead stating simply: "Today's home game against Crystal Palace will go ahead as scheduled. We look forward to seeing you all this afternoon."

Palace would also reveal that Vieira would not be taking the side, as he is self-isolating following a positive Covid test; assistant boss Osian Roberts instead takes charge.

Three Boxing Day matches had already been cancelled prior to Sunday, with Liverpool vs Leeds, Wolves vs Watford and Burnley vs Everton all having bit the dust.

The latter of that aforementioned trio was only called off at the second time of asking, after Rafa Benitez's men were initially told they must play their fixture with the Clarets - much to the displeasure of Rafa Benitez, who had claimed he only had nine fit outfield players.

"They just talk about the numbers - the 13 plus one keeper - but we have nine outfield players available plus three keepers and have to bring in five young players who it seems have enough experience to play," said an unhappy Benitez.

"But the reality is some of these players include Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has been out injured for two months. We have other players with knocks and we will have to push them

"They are not fit and who will take responsibility if something happens to them because they have to play 90 minutes? We are exposing them."

When that encounter was cancelled on Christmas Eve, a Premier League statement made no acknowledgment of their earlier decision, stating simply: "Everton were due to travel to Turf Moor to play on Sunday, at 3pm. The Board reviewed the Club's request today to postpone the match following further injuries to their squad.

"They concluded that the club will not be able to fulfil their fixture this weekend as a result of an insufficient number of players available to play due to COVD-19 cases and injuries.

"The Board this morning was able to make its decision in advance of Boxing Day to give clarity to clubs and their fans. We apologise for the inconvenience and disruption caused to those supporters' festive plans."

The Premier League are undoubtedly in a difficult spot as they seek to play games as normally as possible at present.

But again, even as the game went ahead in North London, the disdain for fans and failure from all parties to even acknowledge them leaves a sour taste.