Tottenham Hotspur’s New Year’s Eve fixture against London rivals West Ham United has been moved to 4 January 2018 due to safety concerns, the Premier League said on Monday.
The league made the decision after the Safety Advisory Group at Wembley Stadium could only recommend a maximum crowd of 43,000 for the initial date, which was less than half the capacity.
“The League selected this match for 31 December with the expectation that a regular crowd capacity would be able to attend,” the Premier League said in a statement.
“However, despite significant work by all parties to achieve this, ultimately the Safety Advisory Group at Wembley Stadium would only recommend a maximum crowd of 43,000.”
The main reason for the decision was transport issues, mainly at local tube stations.
The match will kick off at 2000 GMT, and means both teams will have just two days between Premier League fixtures, after Spurs visit Swansea and West Ham go to West Brom on January 2.
The FA CUP third round is scheduled for the weekend around January 6, but it is expected that neither Tottenham nor West Ham would be given a Saturday fixture. Nonetheless, they could be forced to play three matches in the space of six days.
(telegraph)
