Scott Parker has branded the Premier League’s decision to announce on Monday morning that Fulham’s game against Tottenham would be rearranged for Wednesday as “scandalous”.
The Fulham boss said the possibility of playing Spurs, after their original opponents Aston Villa had a coronavirus outbreak, was raised at the weekend but that the final decision was not relayed to the west London club until Monday morning.
“I’m normally always the last one to moan or whine about anything because I realise it’s tough out there and this is the way it is, but what’s happened to us (is unfair),” Parker said.
“To confirm a Premier League game as well – this is the Premier League, one of the best leagues in the world – to confirm that at 9.30 on Monday morning is scandalous really, to be honest with you.
It is understood Fulham were first informed of the possibility of playing Spurs on Wednesday ahead of their FA Cup tie against QPR on Saturday, with Villa having only made the postponement request to the Premier League that day.
The request from Villa had to be received and signed off before Fulham could be contacted. Confirmation was only possible on Monday once all the clubs and broadcasters affected by the rescheduling had been consulted.
Fulham were signatories last September to a set of guiding principles which are contained within the league’s handbook. One of these states: “Clubs must accept changes to normal conditions and schedules in order to ensure the completion of the competition.”
In section C of the handbook it states the league can, “having given consideration to the health and safety of participating players, (require) that clubs participate in matches at more frequent intervals than initially scheduled”.
