Manchester United will not play Crystal Palace on Sunday, as previously planned. The English Football Association suspended all of this weekend’s fixtures out of a show of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The longest-reigning monarch in the history of Great Britain, Queen Elizabeth II assumed the throne in 1952, and died yesterday at the age of 96, after having spent 70 years on the throne. This was announced by Buckingham Palace. The Premier League said in an official statement earlier today: “At a meeting this morning, Premier League clubs paid tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Rest in peace, Queen Elizabeth II ?? pic.twitter.com/aqL1MPaWPF
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) September 8, 2022
“To honour her extraordinary life and contribution to the nation, and as a mark of respect, this weekend’s Premier League match round will be postponed, including Monday evening’s game.”
United’s Europa League match against Real Sociedad went ahead last night (obviously, you know that, as the Red Devils suffered a shock loss), as the event included a minute’s silence before kick-off, plus players wearing black armbands. Tributes have poured in from all over the football world, including Marcus Rashford, who was appointed the honor of Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in October 2020. You can see his Twitter statement above.
And below you can see the Instagram post from club legend David Beckham
View this post on Instagram
Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo, having been benched in league play, got the start last night, and struggled massively. This marked just the third time that he has been held scoreless in a Europa League/UEFA Cup match, and his side is winless in all three of those matches (2L1D).
Interesting factoid here about the all-time leader in Champions League goals scored. Ronaldo has actually netted in every single competition that he has played in, more than once, except for this very format, the Europa League/UEFA Cup.
Finally, although it took awhile, Juan Mata has found a new club! It’s FC Galatasaray, who signed the 34-year-old free agent to a one-year deal, with the option to stay an additional year. Here’s a link to more on that.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.