There is uncertainty at this stage about what happens with the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points from Bournemouth v Luton Town, which was abandoned after 65 minutes following Tom Lockyer‘s cardiac arrest.
The Luton skipper is, mercifully, in a stable condition and responsive after being transferred to hospital for further tests.
HOW DID THE POINTS STAND WHEN THE GAME WAS ABANDONED?
The below image is how things were left upon the game’s abandonment:
![Gameweek 17 bonus](https://cdn.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/image-162.png)
Dominic Solanke (£6.8m) was heading for a nine-point haul as things stood, having been on course for maximum bonus points after his second-half goal.
The points for appearances, goals and assists remain in FPL at the point of this article’s publication.
The bonus points are no longer showing for this match, however, whereas they are for the other fixtures.
WHAT DO THE FPL RULES SAY?
That is the problem: there is nothing in the FPL rulebook that deals with abandonments.
The below paragraph is the most pertinent from the FPL help page, as the line about “extraordinary circumstances” gives them wriggle room to remove all the points from the Bournemouth v Luton match.
“For the avoidance of doubt, points awarded in-game are subject to change up until one hour after the final whistle of the last match of any given day. Once the points have all been updated on that day, no further adjustments to points will be made unless under extraordinary circumstances.”
WHAT HAS FPL SAID ABOUT IT SINCE?
![](https://cdn.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/image-176.png)
The above image is what FPL put out at 7pm GMT on Sunday.
In normal circumstances, Gameweek 17 would have concluded after the finish of Liverpool v Manchester United.
Things like automatic substitutions would have been processed at this point.
But FPL’s decision to leave the Gameweek open means this will not happen until the predicament over the Bournemouth v Luton points has been resolved.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
In all likelihood, FPL will be waiting on a Premier League statement before deciding on their own course of action.
It has yet to be revealed whether the match will be replayed in its entirety or, as has never happened in the Premier League before, continue from the point of abandonment at a later date.
The Football Association rules say the following:
“In the event of a competition match not being played or abandoned owing to causes over which neither club has control, it should be played in its entirety on a date to be mutually agreed by the two clubs and approved by the competition.
“Failing such agreement and notification to the competition within [x] days the competition shall have the power to order the match to be played on or before a given date.”
But the Premier League rulebook does leave the possibility of a mid-game resumption open:
“The Board may order a League Match which for whatever reason lasts for less than 90 minutes to count as a completed fixture or to be replayed either partially or in its entirety.”
ARE THERE ANY HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS IN FPL?
There’s not much of a historical precedent to follow, as the last in-game Premier League abandonment that we’re aware of was Watford v Wigan Athletic in 2006/07.
That abandoned fixture was removed from the Gameweek it appeared in.
We’re talking about an example from 17 years ago, however, and plenty has changed in FPL in that time.