Football stops across UK 'to honour Queen's extraordinary life'

Football will not be played in most of the UK this weekend due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

In Scotland only senior games have been affected by the postponement of matches at all levels.

Cricket, golf, rugby union, and horse racing are all continuing as planned.

What were the key factors behind football's decision?

Dan is a sports editor for the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Football's governing bodies met on Friday to discuss the best course of action after the death of the Queen.

The advice from the national mourning guidance was to leave the decision to individual sports.

The Football Associations of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland all said that they would be postponing their games.

The decision not to play 10 games this weekend was made to honor the Queen's life and contribution to the nation.

Unlike other sports that have paused events this week, like racing, cricket and golf, football has not yet had a chance to show its respect.

Fans would have had an opportunity to pay tribute if matches had been played. It is understandable for those who have spent money on tickets and transport to have to change their plans at the last minute, especially with so many other sports going ahead.

After so much football was lost during the Pandemic, the decision to stop grassroots and school sport is controversial.

The Queen was patron of the FA and Prince William is its president, but the FA is aware of football's status as the national sport.

What about next week?

With it being part of this weekend's round of games, it was also canceled.

There are games in the European and English Football Leagues in the following week.

There was a minute's silence observed in the games involving British teams.

Uefa hasn't provided an update on next week's games involving British sides, but Manchester City's game with BVB on Wednesday is expected to go ahead as scheduled.

The game will go on as scheduled because City are able to provide the necessary police.

Rangers said in a statement that they are in talks with Uefa but that the game is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.

The round of midweek games hasn't been updated by the EFL.

Depending on when the Queen's state funeral is announced, the next weekend's fixtures could change.

The exact day of the funeral will be confirmed by Buckingham Palace.

Fixture postponements could happen again if it happens next weekend. If they are redeployed to London before the Queen's funeral, policing games might be a factor.

The capital is home to three matches over the weekend. The Metropolitan Police has been asked for a comment while the premier league is talking to its clubs.

On Saturday evening, Spurs playLeicester, while the other two teams are at home against the same team on Sunday.

When will the postponed games be played?

Simon Stone is a sports reporter for the British Broadcasting Corporation.

It will be difficult to find room in the English football calendar for a full round of games.

In a season that includes a winter World Cup and a fourth round of the Carabao Cup, there is not enough space.

Until the season ends on 3 June, there is no spare time.

There are FA Cup third and fourth-round replays. The FA Cup sixth round and semi-finals will be played on the weekends of 2 May and 3 May.

The individual legs of the cup are held in January. Domestic games are not allowed to be played at the same time as Uefa matches. There are two midweeks in March.

Next week there will be discussions about how to resolve the problem. The governing bodies are relaxed about the situation since they dealt with the same issues during the Covid-19-Affected season.

FA Cup replays were axed and the semi-finals of the EFL Cup were played as a single game.

It will be even harder to answer questions now.

What has been the reaction of fans?

The Football Supporters' Federation acknowledged that there was no perfect decision for the football authorities, but said that many supporters would have wanted the games to go ahead.

"We believe football is at its best when bringing people together at times of huge national significance, be those moments of joy or moments of mourning."

Most supporters would have liked to go to the games this weekend and pay their respects to the Queen, according to our view.

"Not everyone will agree, so there was no perfect decision for the football authorities, but many supporters will feel this was an opportunity missed for football to pay its own tribute."

What's happening in other sports?

The women's T20 match between England and India will go ahead, even though the cricket Test between England and South Africa won't start until Saturday.

The PGA Championship will resume on Saturday.

Rugby union's season will start on Saturday after two games were postponed on Friday.

The Great North Run will go ahead as planned, with the organizers saying it is an opportunity to come together and express their sympathies while celebrating the life of the Queen.

A new date for the world title fight between Marshall and Shields will be announced in October.

The British Boxing Board of Control tournaments have been delayed.