In England, football matches are postponed due to a shortage of petrol. Even Soucek was stuck at the pump

The frenzy of people frantically trying to get fuel supplies and the shortage of drivers has caused considerable trouble in the British Isles in recent days, which is also affecting football. Some teams in the lower leagues have no way of getting to their matches and are therefore forced to postpone them. Even the Czech player Tomáš Souček is stuck in a long queue to the petrol station.

According to recent reports, at least 33 matches at the semi-professional and amateur level of English football have been postponed due to a general shortage of petrol and diesel, but this number is expected to rise steeply.

Indeed, petrol stations all over Britain are running low on fuel supplies, long queues are forming and the most important ingredients are beginning to be prioritised in order to maintain at least basic operation.

And so, for example, the Isthmian League, the eighth highest, or third non-professional, league on the widely branching tree of English football competitions, has allowed its participants to postpone matches if they are unable to attend.

One of the first teams to take advantage of this option was Lewes FC, who directly announced that their players, management team and fans had no way of refuelling their vehicles and were therefore unable to attend the game against Carshalton.

So did Hornchurch, whose vice-president Colin McBride said: ‘Like many other clubs, our players drive their cars to games. We had a 270km trip on Saturday and two guys just couldn’t make it because they couldn’t get petrol. Then another one ran out on the motorway on the way back.”

McBride also added that the first priority for the players is, of course, livelihood and family. So they have to save their gas for the rest of the week for their commute. He also added that the situation is another nightmare for any club at a similar level after the covid crisis.

However, it doesn’t have to stay only at the semi-professional level. Concerns are certainly growing across the fully professional English football scene too. According to Reuters, up to 90 per cent of petrol stations in major cities across the UK are running out of fuel.

West Ham midfielder and Czech Republic international Tomáš Souček, for example, took to Instagram to boast about his unpleasant refuelling experience after being stuck in a long queue for several hours outside a petrol station.

The problem is a shortage of lorry drivers coupled with the evolving post-Brexit situation and the panicky behaviour of many people buying frenziedly to stock up on fuel.

The government there is considering calling in the army to help deliver fuel to consumers, according to some media reports. However, according to hauliers and petrol stations themselves, there is no quick fix. Indeed, Britain is estimated to be short of up to 100,000 drivers and, what’s more, special training and licensing is essential to transport fuel.

Sources