Premier League fixtures in doubt following the death of Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II passed away this evening — may she rest in peace — and since the United Kingdom is technically still a (constitutional) monarchy in the year of our lord 2022, there should now be a 10-day period of mourning, during which no form of entertainment is allowed but the peasants still have to go to work.

Football falls under the no-fun proviso, though the Premier League was not a thing the last time a monarch died. The First Division was a thing however, and they managed to make do with a tribute and a song when George VI passed in 1952. Chelsea played three days later, on February 9, and lost 4-1 to Sunderland.

Amazingly, neither the Premier League not the Football League have clear protocols in place for this eventuality — only had the 70 years or so to plan it — which means that no one knows whether fixtures will go ahead today, tomorrow, this weekend, and the next. UEFA made it pretty clear right away that there can be no delays or cancelations, but the domestic organizing bodies are just looking around lost and confused as if they were Mason Mount in Zagreb.

In terms of pure logistics, there’s absolutely no room to postpone anything in an already jam-packed fixture list.

And so, we wait. An announcement is not expected until the morning, at the earliest. As usual, no one knows what they’re doing.