Getty/John Keeble
- Over 35 soccer matches in the UK have been postponed due to the country's fuel crisis.
- Thousands of gas stations across the UK have run dry due to a post-Brexit shortage of truck drivers.
- The lack of fuel means lower-level players are now struggling to get to matches.
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More than 35 soccer matches in the United Kingdom have been postponed due to the country's fuel crisis.
Thousands of gas stations across the UK have run dry in recent days due to a post-Brexit shortage of truck drivers and panic-buying from consumers.
On Sunday, the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), which represents over 5,000 of the UK's 8,000 petrol stations, reported, per Reuters, that two-thirds of its outlets had run out of fuel, with the rest of them "running out soon."
Amid the chaos, soccer matches in the lower parts of the English football league system have had to be called off as players and officials struggle to get the fuel they need to get them to their games.
According to BBC Sport, matches in both the Isthmian League and Southern League – which lie in the seventh tier of England's soccer pyramid – have been cancelled.
All fixtures in the Southern Combination Football Leagues in the ninth and 10th tiers have also been postponed.
Phil Crowe, the manager of Isthmian League side East Thurrock United, told BBC Radio 5 Live: "The coach company we use have access to fuel, that's not the issue. The big problem for us was getting players to the coach."
Stuart Fuller, the chairman of Isthmian League Premier Division team Lewes, told The Times of England that the team had to postpone as its players - who are semi-professional - had to save what little fuel they had left so they could get to work.
"One of our players ran out of fuel after the match on Saturday and we have to understand that as a semi-professional club our players also have jobs and need to prioritize their fuel for getting to and from work as well as their domestic life," he said.
"We also were concerned about whether any spectators would be able to get to the match. It is not always possible to get public transport back from Lewes after mid-week evening matches, which finish quite late."