- Can the Premier League move a final day fixture?
- Why it makes sense for both clubs
- Decision wouldn’t impact other teams either
Crystal Palace will face Arsenal at Selhurst Park on the final day of the Premier League season this Sunday. Arsenal were crowned champions for the first time in 22 years when Manchester City failed to beat Bournemouth.
This effectively means that Sunday’s game holds very little importance to either side, if any importance whatsoever.
Palace can only climb one place in the table with a win, and the Gunners can simply extend their lead atop the table.
Both sides have huge European finals coming up, and therefore the necessity for this game to be played on Sunday seems nonsensical.
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Can the fixture be moved?
Palace travel to Leipzig for their first European final in their history, just three days after Sunday’s final league game.
Arsenal then travel to Budapest to face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final the following Saturday.
Logistically, it makes sense to move the fixture ahead to Saturday in order to give Palace an extra day’s rest, but why has this not happened and why won’t it?
When the Premier League was reduced to 20 teams in the 1995/96 season, the league consistently scheduled the final fixtures at the same time on one individual matchday.
The thinking behind this is that it results in higher jeopardy for clubs, and not giving specific sides a sporting advantage by knowing exactly what they need to play for in order to achieve a certain league finish.
The issue here is that neither Palace, nor Arsenal have anything to play for, therefore eliminating any jeopardy at all.
Technically, fixtures can be moved. In exceptional circumstances, the Premier League may permit final-day fixture changes, but the general feeling is that the final-day schedule is somewhat sacrosanct.
Therefore, it’s not going to happen, especially not at this late notice.
Sense, sometimes, does not prevail
Of course, moving the fixture would make sense completely. It would not only benefit Palace, but also Arsenal, giving both sides additional time to prepare for their European finals.
In one way, that would benefit the Premier League. Palace winning the Conference League would increase the number of clubs playing in Europe next season, and by default increase England’s coefficient rankings, benefitting the league in terms of future European qualification.
It is somewhat surprising that the suggestion of adjusting the date of this fixture hasn’t even been considered, or put forward elsewhere.
Not only do neither Palace or Arsenal have anything riding on this game, but it also does not impact any other sides in the table.
Palace cannot finish in the European places, and Arsenal cannot be caught at the top, or influence the outcomes of any other side’s seasons.
Therefore, there is no impact from this fixture whatsoever, and the Premier League should have acted sooner to adjust the date of the game to benefit both sides.
