Great Britain’s Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8 at 96 as the Premier League, along with the world mourned the death of one of the longest serving monarchs. The Queen had a lasting impact on football as almost every club of the country expressed their condolences towards the Royal Family. Her Majesty’s most famous moment came when she presented England with the World Cup trophy after the Three Lions were crowned World Champions in 1966.
Queen Elizabeth II shared same sentiment for the Three Lionesses as she profoundly congratulated and motivated them after their Women’s EURO 2022 triumph. Her Majesty also gave the footballing world a number of memorable moments as she will forever be remembered an important personality of England’s football heritage. Here’s how the country’s football competitions will mark the death of their Queen through the immediate fixtures.
Premier League football clubs pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II
While there are early talks of games being suspended, the ongoing ones did pay tribute to the Queen after her death was announced. Arsenal, who share a close bond with the Queen since they are the only club in England to be invited by Her Majesty for an afternoon tea, stopped posting updates of their Europa League clash against FC Zurich immediately after the news broke out.
In the same vein, Newcastle United Women also opted against posting live updates of their Middlesbrough game through the Twitter handle. The Premier League is also expected to organise formal tributes before, after and throughout their fixtures which will take place this weekend. Back in 2021, players marked the death of Prince Philip by wearing black armbands and held a two-minute silence before the game.
No update yet over suspension of fixtures slated this weekend
While there’s no such protocol on cancelling or suspending professional football games, there are early reports Premier League fixtures over the weekend could be called-off. Arsenal’s Zurich clash went ahead as scheduled since the unfortunate incident occurred after the game had kicked-off. Manchester United, West Ham’s European games too concluded as scheduled after both the clubs released official statements.
However, EFL have announced that the Burnley vs Norwich City and Tranmere Rovers vs Stockport County games have been postponed as a “mark of respect”. An official statement about the decision over other fixtures will follow soon per multiple reports. Football fixtures in Scotland too have been called-off, with Dundee vs Cove Rangers the first one to be postponed.
Regarding the suspension news of UEFA Champions League and other European games, there are no plans as of yet to call-off the fixtures slated for next week. However, many clubs across Europe have taken it to social media platforms to express their condolences on Her Majesty’s passing away. FIFA too released a statement which read:
“Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s passing is a huge loss to football, to our society, and to the world. Our football community laments the loss of a global leader who engaged and encouraged everyone she met.”
Queen Elizabeth II’s son Prince Charles will now be the heir to the throne with immediate effect. Her funeral’s official date hasn’t been confirmed yet but is expected to be held on September 19, at Westminster Abbey.