Football journalist Dan Sheldon has revealed that Southampton have not lodged an official complaint after their recent Premier League game was postponed.
Due to a growing number of virus cases, several top-flight games have been called off over the festive period. One of these games was the Saints’ last match, which was supposed to see them play Newcastle United.
According to Sky Sports, Southampton were not at all happy with the ‘lack of transparency’ around why the game was called off, as they wanted to know if the Magpies had players out injured, or if it was solely due to positive tests.
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That report stated that the south coast club had contacted the Premier League to outline their frustrations. However, while speaking on the Total Saints podcast, Sheldon stated that while the side have ‘made their feelings known’, they have not taken it any further.
The Athletic writer said: “I totally can understand Southampton’s frustration, and realistically, what can they do about it? Not a lot. I’d read [in] a few places, like they lodged the complaint. That’s not the information I’d had. That’s not my understanding.
“They’ve certainly made their feelings known, but as far as I’m led to believe, that’s kind of as far as it’s gone. There’s been no kind of official complaint or anything like that.”
TIF Thoughts on Southampton and the postponed game…
Newcastle are currently in the midst of an injury crisis, as well as having issues with the virus, and so this led to their previous game against Everton also being called off.
However, Premier League games would usually not be postponed if one team had a lot of injuries, and it seems as if the Magpies may have just been using the virus as an excuse to avoid having to play with fewer first-team options.
As quoted by The Guardian, manager Ralph Hasenhuttl made his feelings on the situation fairly clear recently, saying: “There were times where we had nine out – and we played academy players.
“Injuries are not Covid cases. They [Newcastle] had seven or eight players on the bench during their last game. They should still have 13 players plus one [goalkeeper].”
Despite that evident frustration, Southampton have clearly shown some restraint in their emotions by not taking the matter any further, as claimed by Sheldon.
In other news: Journalist drops claim on Broja’s future at Southampton