LONDON (AP) — The Premier League has postponed Brighton’s home game against Crystal Palace on Sept. 17 because of a planned rail strike.
The league on Wednesday cited the “exceptional circumstances” of the planned walkout of rail workers that would leave no public transportation for fans.
“The Premier League has consulted with both clubs, police, the Safety Advisory Group for Brighton & Hove City Council and other relevant authorities in exploring alternative plans but all have agreed there was no other option but to postpone the fixture,” the league said in a statement.
More than 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union plan to strike on Sept. 15 and 17, “effectively shutting down the railway network,” it said earlier this month, in a dispute over pay and working conditions exacerbated by a deepening cost-of-living crisis.
Strikes in August paralyzed rail service across the country.
Brighton chief executive Paul Barber said they looked for alternatives before requesting a postponement. None of the options would have allowed the match to be played with a full capacity crowd, he said.
A new date for the match will be announced later.
“While we fully appreciate this will be of huge disappointment to both sets of fans, and causes disruption to both teams’ fixture schedules as well as those of supporters, the safety of fans of both clubs, our matchday staff, players and officials must be the priority,” Barber said.
___
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports