The Premier League breaks with a tradition that is more than 100 years old. Only one game is for him Boxing Day provided. There is no lack of blame for this unusual circumstance.
Nick Woltemade is making the most of the holiday in English football in his debut year. Floodlit play in a sold-out venue Old Trafford on December 26th? It couldn’t be better. But except Newcastle United and Manchester United Nobody in the Premier League will be able to compete on Boxing Day this year.
In England’s elite league, only one game takes place on Boxing Day – the last time there was even less, none at all, was in 1982. In this millennium, at least five matches have always been played on December 26th, and the entire match day often took place on Boxing Day. It’s even from a “fig leaf”Friday Night Match” the speech that will be performed this year.
Biting statement to UEFA
Last year the game was played from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. with eight (!) pairings. The US trading giant Amazon secured itself via its offshoot “Prime Video” the live broadcast rights for this match day, which was considered the most lucrative in the entire match calendar due to the high number of spectators.
Boxing Day plays a special role in Great Britain and the Commonwealthit is named after the “Christmas Boxes” (gift boxes) that employers gave to their employees and churches gave to the poor. It is a tradition for popular sports to hold well-attended competitions on Boxing Day.
The league cites the expansion of European Cup competitions by UEFA as the reason for breaking the custom that has been in place since 1888. “The Premier League would like to acknowledge the circumstances that have resulted in a reduced number of matches on Boxing Day – affecting an important tradition in English football.”said one scathing statement.
The league created the problem itself
The adjustment of the game plan is a result of the increased burden caused by the Champions LeagueEuropa League and Conference League, whose match days require more and more appointments until the start of the knockout phase. The league also referred to the requirements of the world association FIFA, which requires a minimum break of 72 hours between two games.
There be “special precautions” been hit, “to allow more time between games during the holidays”it said. Last had Crystal Palace just 46 hours after the Conference League home game against Kuopion PS (2:2). Leeds United (1:4) have to compete. Coach Oliver Glasner didn’t like it at all. Nevertheless, he didn’t want to blame the team, he had completely changed the team. “It was the basics. They were much better than us”he said.
Contract with the FA is binding
The Premier League cannot completely shift responsibility for the slimmed-down Boxing Day; the contract it concluded with the English Football Association is also to blame FA. Accordingly, the elite league must guarantee its media partners that 33 of the 38 match days will be played on weekends.
Due to scheduling constraints, the 18th match day, which takes place around Boxing Day, has to take place largely on the weekend. This time Boxing Day falls on a Friday. Seven games are scheduled for December 27th, including the FC home game Liverpool with the German national player Florian Wirtz against the bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers (4 p.m.).
Pep Guardiola puts his professionals on the scales
Accordingly, many clubs adapted their tried and tested processes over the Christmas holidays this year. Pep Guardiola introduced his professionals Manchester City even on the scales before Christmas. In the event that some of them over-indulged in the festive feast, the coach threatened to leave them out of the squad for the Premier League game on Saturday (1.30 p.m.). Nottingham Forest to delete.
“They come back on the 25th and I will be there to check how many kilos they have gained, whether they have become fat”said Guardiola. The 54-year-old probably still has fond memories of how joyless the time around Boxing Day was when the coach left after a sobering 1-1 draw against Everton desperately calling for new players. The crisis of meaning “Citizens”who signed Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt during this phase, was a big topic at the time.
With Woltemade, there is hardly any risk of weight gain over the holidays. After all, he has to prepare with Newcastle on Christmas Eve and December 25th before they play for three points on Boxing Day (9 p.m.) against Manchester United, who are plagued by extremely bad luck with injuries. The league has already announced that from 2026 almost all players will be able to enjoy a Boxing Day game again. The break with tradition should initially remain an exception.