THE Premier League postponed its upcoming round of matches as a mark of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, adding to the cancellation of high-profile golf, cricket, and horse racing events across a mourning Britain yesterday.

England’s top-flight football clubs held a meeting yesterday 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.”

The English Football League — the three divisions below the Premier League — also called off their games scheduled for the weekend. The Women’s Super League was due to start its season this weekend but has cancelled its games, too.

The British Government said it was at the discretion of individual sporting organisations whether fixtures went ahead following the death of The Queen on Thursday at the age of 96.

British sport essentially shut down on Friday but could be up and running in some cases on Saturday.

Football matches in the English Football League and in the Scottish lower league scheduled for yesterday had already been postponed while matches scheduled to be played in Northern Ireland over the weekend were also cancelled.

The Premier League said further updates regarding its fixtures during the period of mourning, which has begun in Britain, will be provided “in due course”.

Organisations are having to weigh up factors, such as whether holding matches would use up police resources, the desire of broadcasters, and the mood of the public.

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

The Government said sporting organisations “might wish to consider cancelling or postponing events or closing venues on the day of the State funeral”.

That date of the funeral has not been set.

— AP