A carefully crafted sense of stability around English football began to crumble on Monday night as record positive tests and the possibility of more postponements confirmed the return of Covid‑19 as a threat to the game. Forty-two Premier League players and officials tested positive for the virus in the seven days that ended on Sunday, a record since testing began and more than three times the 12 of the previous week. Manchester United are among the teams hit, with the club on Monday closing the first‑team area their training centre for 24 hours and delaying travel to London as they waited for a decision from the league on whether their match against Brentford on Tuesday can go ahead. Aston Villa and Brighton reported positive tests on Monday, and Tottenham have yet to confirm their fixture against Leicester on Thursday will go ahead after two Spurs matches were called off last week; but they are preparing for that game to take place. An outbreak at QPR caused their Championship fixture against Sheffield United on Monday to be postponed. There is no automatic point at which a Premier League match is suspended, with each case considered by the board, a process queried by a number of Premier League managers including Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta. The Premier League’s Covid results were compiled from a sample of 3,805, the largest total of the season. An increase in testing is one of a series of emergency measures designed to stop the spread of Covid, reintroduced at clubs last week. The measures require a return to social distancing at training grounds and limit time in treatment rooms. At a meeting last Friday, clubs were also told they should attempt to limit social contacts among players and staff, effectively paving the way for the reintroduction of the working bubbles that characterised Project Restart. The league remains hopeful its emergency measures will cut case numbers and allow play to continue. It points to a similar process having the desired effect during the Covid Beta wave of last December and January. There is uncertainty, however, over whether the protocols will work as effectively against the Omicron variant, which is many times more transmissible. The uncertainty came as the government confirmed the guidance on new measures for fans attending sporting events from Wednesday. Last week Boris Johnson announced: “We will make the NHS Covid pass mandatory for entrance into … spaces where large crowds gather.” But the guidance confirms that not every fan will be checked on entry, with organisers able to agree a target achievable without causing crowds to build up outside grounds. Some Premier League clubs say they already require all supporters to show passes. Others are working on bespoke systems, which will require supporters to register their Covid status with the club before travelling. Areas of the ground that do not register will be subject to more rigorous spot checks. Spurs face being made to forfeit their cancelled Rennes tie 3-0, which would lead to them exiting the Europa Conference League. Uefa’s control, ethics and disciplinary body is to meet – possibly this week – to rule on what should happen after Spurs and Rennes were unable to find a date to restage the game before the official cut-off at the end of the month. There is an outside chance they could find a solution to play the tie in January, although the forfeit is considered the most likely outcome.