Shrewsbury Game with Southampton Postponed
Saturday’s FA Cup third-round tie between Southampton and League One side Shrewsbury has been pulled off. The decision was taken after it was discovered that a significant number of Shrewsbury players and staff tested positive for coronavirus.
The League One club does not have enough fit, non-isolating players to play the game at St Mary’s Stadium. It was only wise and thoughtful for the English Football Association to postponed the game.
The Football Association’s professional game board will decide what will happen with the fixture “early next week”. Shrewsbury have not trained throughout this week and they have also shut their facilities for 10 days.
The Shropshire side said they had been given medical advice that “it would be unsafe” to play the match, with Southampton told of the decision on Thursday morning.
Wayne Rooney and Derby’s first-team squad will also miss their FA Cup tie at Chorley on Saturday following a Covid-19 outbreak which closed their training ground on Monday.
The Rams team for the game at Victory Park will be made up of under-23 and under-18 players. Shrewsbury’s League One derby against Crewe on New Year’s Day did not hold because of the outbreak.
Southampton is sitting in the sixth position in the English Premier League table thanks to their 1-0 win over Liverpool on Monday.