Everton is seeking "full disclosure" regarding the COVID-19 outbreak at Manchester City, which resulted in their Premier League game being postponed on Monday.
Just hours before the game was due to kick off at Goodison Park, City said they had returned a number of positive tests in addition to the four on Dec. 25 that included striker Gabriel Jesus and defender Kyle Walker.
The Premier League decided to postpone the game, which had been set to be played in front of 2,000 fans.
"Whilst Everton will always have public safety uppermost, we will be requesting full disclosure of all the information that Manchester City provided to the Premier League so the club can be clear on why this decision was taken," Everton said in a statement on its website.
| Club Statement: Manchester City fixture postponement.#EVEMCI https://t.co/Q5ddxKYpyy
— Everton (@Everton) December 28, 2020
Premier League rules state that a game cannot be postponed unless a team has fewer than 14 players available.
City are scheduled to visit Chelsea on Jan. 3 and meet local rivals Manchester United in the League Cup semi-final on Jan. 6.
Monday's game was the second to be moved this season after an outbreak at Newcastle United prompted the league to call off their match at Aston Villa earlier this month.
Arsenal have said defender Gabriel Magalhaes, who was self-isolating after coming into contact with an individual who tested positive for COVID-19, has also returned a positive test.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
