Oxford United’s latest League One match was called off just 35 minutes before kick-off after news emerged that a member of the Crewe Alexandra squad has tested positive for coronavirus.
As a result, the match will need to be rescheduled, but many believe that the U’s should be awarded the points after a lack of due care from the visitors.
Oxford United Postpone Match Against Crewe Alexandra After Visiting Player Tests Positive For Coronavirus
How it Happened
On Tuesday, Crewe played against Newcastle United U21s and midfielder Ryan Wintle tested positive after the game. As a result, new signing Omar Beckles opted for a private test on Thursday and he also tested positive on Saturday morning.
Despite the potential result, Beckles was part of the squad that not only travelled down to Oxford but also stayed in a hotel the night before the game. BBC Radio Stoke confirmed they had heard the news of the result at 8 am on Saturday morning, but Oxford United weren’t informed until 1.30 pm.
After lengthy discussions between U’s boss Karl Robinson and Crewe manager David Artell, the match was abandoned. Robinson didn’t want to subject his players to a team that had been surrounded by a positive test.
Implications and Protocols
The big talking point here is, should Crewe have even travelled down with an infected player? And why did the squad stay at a hotel? The money spent could have been used on testing, particularly when the club knew of a positive test.
The other aspect is the involvement of the EFL. Should they be providing tests for clubs? Should the testing procedures be mandatory? Many clubs in the Football League aren’t testing their players despite numerous cases of coronavirus across the three divisions of the pyramid.
Crewe intended to play the game, but Oxford refused. And it isn’t the first time this season a case like this has happened. With an already shorter season in progress, the postponement of matches is something lower league clubs can do without.
As for Oxford, Robinson confirmed after the announcement that the club would fit the bill to test their players, before doing so again in five days time.
Last week, before the U’s won at Accrington, Robinson had five first-team players come down with a cold. He had them tested and all came back negative so into the squad they went, but if a positive result would have occurred, those players wouldn’t have been involved.
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