Sporting events after the Queen's death: Some cancelled, some to go ahead, but why?

Some sporting events have been cancelled following the death of the Queen, but others are going ahead.

The football associations of England, Wales, and Scotland have postponed all matches into next week, from the Premier League to grassroots.

The FA's decision, which was revealed after the Premier League and English Football League suspended matches, delays the start of the Women's Super League season and comes despite government guidance which stated there was no official obligation to cancel events.

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It is understood that halting the matches was agreed purely as a mark of respect for Britain's longest-reigning monarch, though some fans and public figures voiced criticism on social media, suggesting sport would have brought people together.

Many said the postponements would also intensify fixture congestion ahead of the World Cup this autumn in Qatar.

In contrast, rugby league and rugby union fixtures will go ahead as planned, the RFL and RFU confirmed.

The RFL said its decision to play on across the sport reflected a "desire to come together" among teams and within communities, with black armbands and periods of silence to be observed.

The move allows the Betfred Super League Elimination Play-Off to take place on Saturday.

The English RFU said all rugby union games would be played as planned to "help us all to unite at this time of national mourning".

The Scottish Rugby Union has delayed all domestic competitive games this weekend as a mark of respect, while the women's summer Test international between Scotland and Spain on Sunday is also off.

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The British Horseracing Authority also confirmed racing would not take place on Saturday but return as normal the following day with an extended nine-race card planned for Doncaster.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said cricket would resume on Saturday, with the start of the third test against South Africa included in the line-up of fixtures. It cited the government guidance on sport for its decision.

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The BBC Proms concert set for Friday was called off, as was the famous Last Night of the Proms, which had been due to take place on Saturday.

The Mercury Prize was among the most notable events to be postponed on Thursday night.

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The Sandringham Game and Country Fair, due to be staged on the Sandringham estate over the weekend, was cancelled as a mark of respect shortly after the Queen's death was announced.

The women's middleweight world title fight between Savannah Marshall and Claressa Shields, scheduled for the O2 Arena in London on Saturday, is off.

The Italian Grand Prix will go ahead as scheduled on Sunday, with a minute's silence planned before practice on Friday and another expected before the race.

The PGA Championship golf at Wentworth will resume on Saturday as a 54-hole event.

The Lawn Tennis Association has also announced that the Davis Cup Finals group stage involving Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Netherlands and USA, scheduled to be played in Glasgow between 13-18 September, will go ahead as planned.

If the state funeral takes place on one of those dates then there will be no play on that day and the affected tie will be rescheduled.

The TUC union organisation said that its annual Congress, due to begin on Sunday, would be rescheduled to a later date.

Next week

It is early in the period of national mourning, and decisions about events scheduled for next week are likely to continue to be made over the weekend.

One piece of welcome news for commuters was that strikes on the rail network, due on Thursday and Saturday, have been dropped by the three unions involved as a mark of respect.

Strike action by criminal barristers is to continue, though protests outside courts and parliament have been cancelled.

And the Bank of England's next interest rate decision, which was due on Thursday, has been postponed by a week until Thursday 22 September.

Ahead of London Fashion Week, which is due to begin on 16 September, it is understood that organisers have allowed shows which will not clash with the funeral to go ahead, but parties have been cancelled.

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So why are some things cancelled and others not?

The government guidance says: "There is no obligation to cancel or postpone events and sporting fixtures, or close entertainment venues during the National Mourning period.

"This is at the discretion of individual organisations.

"As a mark of respect, organisations might wish to consider cancelling or postponing events or closing venues on the day of the state funeral.

"They are under no obligation to do so and this is entirely at the discretion of individual organisations.

"If sporting fixtures or events are planned for the day of the state funeral, organisations may want to adjust the event timings so they do not clash with the timings of the funeral service and associated processions.

"As a mark of respect, and in keeping with the tone of National Mourning, organisers may wish to hold a period of silence and/or play the National Anthem at the start of events or sporting fixtures, and players may wish to wear black armbands."