Muratti hopes finally at an end?
A SECOND straight Muratti cancellation appears now to be almost certain.
The fate of the 2021 game is expected to be confirmed this evening, following a decision by officials to bring forward their scheduled crunch talks by 48 hours.
Jersey FA president Bradley Vowden had dearly hoped to stage the annual men’s and women’s finals at Springfield on the last weekend of June.
But it seems the rules governing travel are moving too slowly to enable the biggest football game in the Channel Islands to resume.
Tonight’s talks are expected to focus on Guernsey’s new inbound travel policy, which includes a minimum seven-day isolation period and tests – costing £25 each – on arrival and on day seven.
Travellers must also then adhere to 'passive follow-up', which includes not returning to work without prior discussion with and approval by Public Health.
Vowden went into the meeting seeking further detail on the 'passive' restrictions, which could make or break plans to hold both the semi-final [between Guernsey and Alderney] and final.
As of Monday, inbound travellers to Jersey from ‘green’ regions – those with fewer than 50 cases per 100,000 people in the previous fortnight – are required to isolate only until they have received their first negative test result.
Jersey was due to host the 2020 final, before all events were cancelled as a result of the pandemic.
Previously the Inter-Insular Committee had said it would make a final decision about the viability of these matches on Friday 30 April.
At that stage Gary Roberts, the Guernsey FA chief executive and Inter-Insular Committee secretary, outlined the reasoning and said the relevance of the 30 April date is that beyond this time it would be difficult to successfully organise and host the various fixtures before the end of the season on 30 June.
By waiting until 30 April to make a decision, it had beenl hoped that inter-island travel would be restored fully with no isolation requirements.
The Inter-Insular Committee have already agreed it was not viable to play the 2021 fixture at the start of next season due to conflicts with Guernsey FC and the Jersey Bulls.
