Premier League apologizes as Tottenham vs Nottingham Forest moved because of train strikes

The Premier League has apologized after moving Tottenham Hotspur’s home clash against Nottingham Forest forward by a day due to train strikes.

The league fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium had originally been scheduled to get underway on Monday April 8 at 8pm, but has been moved forward by 26 hours to get underway at 6pm on Sunday April 7.

The change comes following the announcement of train strikes on both the London tube and national railways on the original date of the fixture.

There is planned industrial action and substantial travel disruption expected across the rail network scheduled for Monday April 8, with the decision taken following the recommendation of an emergency Safety Advisory Group (SAG) meeting.

Premier League ‘apologies unreservedly to fans’

In a press release on Thursday evening, also shared by Nottingham Forest, the Premier League said: “The Premier League apologizes unreservedly to supporters of both clubs, and all those affected, for the inconvenience and disruption caused by this late fixture change.

“The change has been made due to matters beyond the League’s control, namely the decision to implement rail and tube strikes on Monday April 8 and the subsequent reduction in available travel services.

“This has resulted in the local authority’s Safety Advisory Group determining that it is not possible to stage the match with the required levels of safety for attending fans.”

All original tickets will remain valid for the fixture, with Tottenham adding they will “shortly be contacting all ticket holders to outline options if they are no longer able to attend”.

Tottenham’s statement added: “We apologize for any inconvenience caused to fans by this fixture amendment, which has been made for reasons beyond the club’s control.”

When are the train strikes?

Members of the ASLEF trade union, which includes London tube drivers, plan to walk out on Monday April 8.

This is the same day that National Rail operators are also planning to strike, with travel chaos likely as a result.

Tottenham have said the planned strikes mean only one of the six train stations that serve the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be operating normally due to the industrial action.

When has the Premier League postponed matches over transport strikes?

Transport strikes forcing postponements of Premier League matches are rare, but there are several previous examples.

In the 2022-23 season, Brighton’s home match against Crystal Palace — originally scheduled for Saturday September 17 — was postponed due to train strikes.

The league said at the time that “exceptional circumstances” of the planned walkout of rail workers would leave no public transportation for fans for that fixture, which was later staged on March 15.

That same September 17-18 matchday in 2022 saw two further fixtures postponed due to policing shortages around the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

Manchester United’s home match against Leeds United and Chelsea’s game against Liverpool were both postponed until 2023 due to those shortages.

A decade previously, Arsenal’s Premier League home fixture against West Ham United, originally scheduled for December 26 2012, was postponed to January 23 2013 due to industrial action by London Underground staff.

That followed a similar incident in the 2011-12 season, when Arsenal pushed back their home match against Wolverhampton Wanderers by 24 hours to December 27 due to a strike by London Underground tube drivers.

(Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images)