Football Supporters Association criticises 'missed opportunity' as English football postponed for the weekend because of Queen Elizabeth II's death

Where the majority of major sporting events are taking place as planned this weekend, the Premier League, Football League (EFL), and non-league, grassroots and women's football in England and Wales announced late on Friday morning theirs would not, as a mark of respect to the late queen, who died the previous afternoon.

Scottish football announced it would be doing likewise.

The Football League had already moved swiftly to cancel its Friday night matches, but now there will be no games on Saturday or Sunday either. Although the National League is at this stage planning to resume its programme on Monday, when Bradford (Park Avenue) are due to host Darlington in Conference North, Leeds United's televised Premier League game against Nottingham Forest that evening has also been postponed.

Although the Premier and Football Leagues have given no firm commitments at this stage, some EFL clubs have strongly suggested their midweek matches are likely to go ahead as planned.

The FSA, which represents fans in this country, argued playing the matches would have been a better tribute than not doing so.

“We believe football is at its finest when bringing people together at times of huge national significance – be those moments of joy or moments of mourning," they said in a statement. “Our view, which we shared with the football authorities, is that most supporters would have liked to go to games this weekend and pay their respect to the queen alongside their fellow fans.

“Not everyone will agree, so there was no perfect decision for the football authorities, but many supporters will feel this was an opportunity missed for football to pay its own special tributes.

“As usual, the Football Supporters’ Association will be collating advice about supporters’ entitlements regarding expenses incurred relating to postponed games this weekend."

League One Sheffield Wednesday had sold more than 1,600 tickets for the trip to Plymouth Argyle, and Championship Hull City were due at Cardiff City.

The three English clubs involved in European club competition on Thursday all played as planned.

Arsenal's Europa League game in Zurich was underway when the death was announced, and it was decided it was too short notice to postpone Manchester United's Europa League match at home to Real Sociedad, or FCSB's Europa Conference League game at West Ham United. Both games kicked off after impeccably-observed minute's silences.

This weekend was due to see the start of a new Women's Super League season, perhaps the most important in the competition's short history as it looks to build on the enthusiasm generated by England's European Championship victory in the summer.

The rest of the women's pyramid fell into line, with Sheffield United's game at Sunderland in the women's Championship Yorkshire's most high-profile match.

Nine Football League clubs from the county are due to play on Tuesday subject to approval from the relevant safety advisory groups, with Rotherham United hosting Blackpool in the Championship on Wednesday.

Leeds’ next game is to due to be at Manchester United a week on Sunday, a fixture which could be under threat because of the queen's Westminster Abbey funeral, the date of which was still to be confirmed at the time of writing.

Chelsea's game at home to Liverpool later that afternoon is due to be the final Premier League match of September, with the league taking a further break for international Nations League football afterwards.

This season’s fixture list is already horrendously congested with the Premier League extending its season by two weeks in return for losing six to football’s first winter World Cup, which takes place in Qatar in November and December.

Rotherham are already a game behind most Championship sides after August’s trip to Coventry City was postponed because the Commonwealth Games’ rugby sevens tournament left the pitch unplayable.

They, unlike the Premier League clubs, are at least due to play through the knockout (but not group) stages of the World Cup, and started their season a week earlier.

The two big leagues took their decisions after consultation with each other and the Department of Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS).

Official Government guidance issued minutes before the meeting was due to start said that "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.”

Meanwhile, the chair of the DCMS's select committee, Julian Knight, told Talk Sport no sporting events should take place out of respect.Leeds are one of the clubs to have donated the food ordered for their weekend game to local foodbanks.