LONDON (AP) — A coronavirus outbreak at Fulham has forced the postponement of the Premier League match at Tottenham, hours before kickoff on Wednesday.

It is the second match this week to be called off in the Premier League due to COVID-19 cases after Manchester City's game on Monday at Everton also fell by the wayside.

“Fulham lodged a request with the Premier League board to rearrange the fixture following a significant rise in positive COVID-19 cases, as well as a number of players showing symptoms today,” the league said in a statement.

"The Premier League board has consulted its medical advisors and the decision to postpone the game has been taken as a precaution and with the health of players and staff as the priority. The group will now be retested immediately.

"With low numbers of positive tests across the overwhelming majority of clubs, the Premier League continues to have full confidence in its COVID-19 protocols and being able to continue to play our fixtures as scheduled.

“The league wishes those with COVID-19 a safe and speedy recovery and will rearrange the postponed fixture between Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham in due course.”

Earlier, Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho expressed irritation with a post on Instagram laced with sarcasm as he waited for the postponement decision to be made: “Match at 6 pm... We still don’t know if we play. Best league in the world."

West Bromwich Albion manager Sam Allardyce has called for the league to be paused due to the rise in COVID-19 infections in the country as a new more contagious variant spreads.

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