Boarded up shops are pictured in Manchester City Centre yesterday, following a fourth night of violence in Britain. Britain’s worst riots in decades raged into yesterday as youths ran amok in Manchester and the industrial Midlands but London was quiet with 16,000 police swamping the streets to stem violence. (AFP
AFP/London


English Premier League chiefs will decide today whether the opening round of fixtures will go ahead as British cities grapple with widespread rioting, a statement said.
Although relative calm returned to London’s streets on Tuesday night, outbreaks of violence in Birmingham and Manchester have raised fresh question marks against this weekend’s Premier League kick-off.
Both the Premier League and Football League are to meet today to decide whether games in London this weekend will go ahead.
“The Premier League and Football League are saddened by the recent incidents of civil unrest and the effect it is having on local communities,” a joint statement said.
“We are in ongoing discussions with our London-based clubs, the Metropolitan Police and statutory authorities in regard to the staging of the coming weekend’s fixtures in the capital.
“The Metropolitan Police has conveyed to us the dynamic nature of the current situation and with that in mind all parties will review the situation on Thursday and make a further public statement at that time.
“With the information currently available to us there is no reason to think any matches outside of London will be affected.
“We are conscious of the need to keep fans informed of any developments and will, of course, keep them as up to date as possible through club, league and media channels.”
England’s friendly against Holland, due to take place at Wembley on Wednesday, was scrapped along with an international between Ghana and Nigeria at Watford on Tuesday.
Several League Cup matches involving London clubs on Tuesday were also postponed.
Meanwhile, QPR owner Bernie Ecclestone has urged Premier League chiefs not to suspend fixtures because of riots across Britain, saying any disruption would send a “terrible message” to the world.
Premier League chiefs are due to decide on Thursday whether or not matches in London and other violence-hit British cities should go ahead as planned this weekend following the cancellation of England’s friendly with Holland.
However Ecclestone argued that postponing more games on the opening weekend of the Premier League season would be counter-productive. “I tell you what, it gives a terrible message to the rest of the world,” Ecclestone told the BBC.
“The Premier League is watched all over the world and wherever I travel and turn on the TV I see Manchester United playing someone,” added Ecclestone, who is also head of Formula One. “It is important and it is watched worldwide so it gives a very bad message about England and we’re about to have the Olympic Games so it is not a good message to give.”