Buckingham Palace confirmed on Thursday that Queen Elizabeth II had died, aged 96, at Balmoral. A statement from Buckingham Palace read: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow." That meant the period of national mourning officially began on Friday.
Friday's sporting fixtures were postponed in the wake of the passing of the Queen and the Premier League confirmed before midday that the weekend's matches were also postponed. Manchester United were set to play Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.
It was always going to be a difficult decision to make in awful circumstances, but the Premier League were wrong to postpone the weekend's fixtures. Rugby, cricket and horse racing are all set to continue this weekend and yet football has been stopped.
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The majority of elite sport will continue while shopping centres, cinemas, pubs, cafes and gyms will remain open. Although the nation is mourning, respects can be paid to the Queen without postponing fixtures, which inadvisably the Premier League has done.
It is hard to deny the decision to postpone has been a major oversight from the Premier League. There are countless reasons why the games shouldn't have been postponed, including that policing numbers were not a factor in the decision on Friday.
The infrastructure was there to support the fixtures and supporters should have been given the opportunity to come together and pay their tributes in a stadium. It was hard not to be moved by West Ham fans singing the national anthem on Thursday night.
Thousands paying their tributes to the Queen inside of a stadium feels more appropriate than cancelling the fixtures. The football-supporting public will now be alone this weekend, when for some football is the only 90 minutes of escapism during a week.
The world is beginning to emerge from a bleak, harrowing and unprecedented two years with the pandemic, and the importance of attending social events can not be underestimated. The awareness around mental health is increasing and that's overdue.
That's without mentioning the money that supporters have spent money on travel expenses and accommodation for matches. The cost of living crisis, which currently has the country on its knees, is painfully real and some will be fearful of losing that money.
That could have real consequences at a time when every penny matters - that is simply unacceptable. The Premier League needs to take responsibility and address this issue, as their controversial decision to postpone could leave many out of pocket.
The food from kiosks in stadiums should also be donated to food banks, as it will be an awful, unforgivable waste should that not happen. Leeds deserve credit for being the first Premier League club to donate all their surplus food stock on Friday afternoon.
United won't be heading to Crystal Palace this weekend and it seems unlikely they will play Leeds next Sunday when the Queen's funeral is expected to take place. It would have been sensible to just postpone fixtures next weekend.
The government confirmed there is no obligation to cancel or postpone events and it is understood that the Premier League's decision was made purely as a mark of respect for the Queen, but it is peculiar football is the only sport to take that stance.
Another consideration is fixture congestion, which is now bound to happen in an already hectic schedule. United's games against Palace and Leeds will be rescheduled and the Premier League will do well to pencil in those dates at a convenient time.
United will be competing in the Premier League, Europa League, League Cup and FA Cup and they are not helped by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which will take place in November and December. It is difficult to imagine when the postponed games will be played.
This is a time for mourning but the Premier League has got this major decision wrong.
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