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Only Tottenham-Everton opening match cancelled

Comment: 0 August 12th, 2011 by: admin

Only the upcoming weekend match between hosts Tottenham Hotspurs and visiting Everton will be postponed due to safety concerns amidst the ongoing riots.

After an entire day of negotiations, police and Premier League officials agreed to postpone the game upon consideration of the extent of the damage that the unrest has inflicted around the area of White Hart Lane, the Spurs’ home field.

An official statement from the Premier League released Thursday confirmed the decision.

‘While efforts were made to try and facilitate the Tottenham Hotspur v Everton match by the Metropolitan Police and the local authority, the situation on the Tottenham High Road proved too difficult to overcome,’ the statement read.

According to league executives, the amount of time required to put the area back together made it impossible for them to give the green light to the match set for Saturday.

‘Tottenham High Road can’t be handed to be council, who would issue the safety certificate, until Friday evening, and that’s not enough time to clear it up’ explained Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore.

Spurs and Everton players expressed dismay over the decision, but agreed that it was for the best.

‘It’s a bitter disappointment. We’ve worked for the past six weeks trying to get fit and its’ really unfortunate that the first game of the season isn’t going to happen,’ said Spurs captain Michael Dawson.

‘But what is important is the safety of everybody involved. We know the police would not call a game off lightly.’

‘I was very keen to play,’ said Everton’s Tim Cahill. ‘But [the postponement] had to be for the right reasons. It’s a lot bigger than football.’

An idea growing within the walls of the Commons by Prime Minister David Cameron involved a more widespread cancellation across the opening weekend, including scheduled games set several areas in and outside of London. Officials, however, decided that such a move was not necessary.

‘The situation on the Tottenham High Road proved too difficult to overcome,’ read the official statement, ‘but there is no reason to believe that matches outside of London will be affected at this time.’

Scudamore indicated that the current decision is to be upheld unless ‘if there is a major incident in any of the cities tonight or on Friday night.’

The rioting, which was ignited around the area of White Hart Lane and spread across the country, had already led to the postponement of a number of games, including a Wednesday friendly match between England and Holland.

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