British sports suspend activity following death of Queen Elizabeth

LONDON — British sports were holding a day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II, with high-profile golf, cricket and horse racing events canceled Friday as a mark of respect, and major soccer games canceled all weekend.

The Premier League postponed its upcoming round of matches as a mark of respect following the death of the Queen. England’s top-flight soccer clubs held a meeting on Friday and said they wanted to “pay tribute to Her Majesty’s long and unwavering service to our country.”

“This is a tremendously sad time for not just the nation but also for the millions of people around the world who admired her,” Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said, “and we join together with all those in mourning her passing.”

There is little room in the schedule of this World Cup-affected season to fit in postponed fixtures.

The English Football League — the three divisions below the Premier League — also called off its games scheduled for the weekend.

The British government said it was at the discretion of individual sporting organizations whether fixtures went ahead following the death of the queen on Thursday at the age of 96.

The BMW PGA Championship, the flagship golf event on the European tour, was paused near the end of the first round Thursday following the announcement of the queen’s death — there were still 30 players out on the course — and there will be no play Friday.

“We remain hopeful of restarting at some stage over the weekend,” the tour said Friday in a statement, adding that it would be reviewing “protocol guidance from Buckingham Palace” while also aligning with the decisions made by other sporting events in Britain.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has already announced that there would be no play on Friday in the third and deciding test between England and South Africa at the Oval. There was no update on whether play would be resuming over the weekend.

Other events called off included the third day of horse racing’s St. Leger festival in Doncaster — horse racing was the queen’s favorite sport — and cycling’s Tour of Britain, which also canceled the final two stages of the race scheduled for the weekend.

Soccer matches in the English Football League — the three leagues below the Premier League — and in the Scottish lower league will not be played Friday and matches scheduled to be played in Northern Ireland over the weekend were also canceled.

Play has been suspended at the BMW PGA Championship following the Queen's death. pic.twitter.com/tTUpQwtVZO

— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) September 8, 2022

In its official guidance, the British government said there was “no obligation to cancel or postpone events and sporting fixtures” during the period of national mourning” and that it was “at the discretion of individual organizations.”

“As a mark of respect, organizations might wish to consider canceling or postponing events or closing venues on the day of the State Funeral,” the government said.

The date of the State Funeral has not been set.