"It is not safe!" fumed Thomas Tuchel after watching his coronavirus-hit side struggle on Sunday night. The exasperated Chelsea manager, who had his request for a postponement rejected, could only field 14 outfield players in his matchday squad against Wolves. 

"We were put in a huge risk of health and safety to the players, not just because of COVID-19 but also physically," he told reporters in an explosive press briefing. "We talk about protecting players and a safe environment but it is not safe. I would be not surprised if the next test shows up and we have more positives." 

"How should it stop if we sit in the bus and have dinners and just stay together like nothing happened?" asked Tuchel, whose depleted team are now six points behind leaders Manchester City after a drab goalless draw.

While winning trophies is important, Tuchel and his Premier League counterparts obviously have something much more worrisome to contend with. Six of the English top flight's 10 weekend matches were postponed due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant across the UK. 

The emotion was echoed by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, who pulled no punches after his side's 2-2 draw at Tottenham. "We cannot carry on as usual," he said. "We could maybe have another [COVID-19] case or two. We have to think about it, we cannot just push it all through." 

According to several British media outlets, all Premier League clubs are set to meet on Monday to discuss whether to postpone an entire round of fixtures on December 28, 29 and 30 in an attempt to ease the escalating crisis around the Omicron variant.

Meanwhile, the Premier League has called on all elite footballers to get vaccinated as latest figures revealed that only 68 percent of the top flight players had received two doses. 

Omicron is also causing havoc in the National Basketball Association (NBA), which announced the postponement of five games due to COVID-19 outbreaks within several teams in the league. 

"The next games for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers, as well as the next two games for the Brooklyn Nets, have been postponed because of players and staff members entering NBA health and safety protocols," the league said in a statement. 

The move comes after ESPN revealed that five Cavaliers players tested positive for COVID-19, joining Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro on the list of players unavailable in coronavirus protocols. The Nets, who currently lead the Eastern Conference, also have nine players unavailable due to the same reason. Among them are superstars Kevin Durant and James Harden.

The National Football League (NFL) on Friday announced the postponement of three Week 15 games after 29 Los Angeles Rams players and 23 Cleveland Browns players were placed on the league's COVID-19/Reserve list.  

According to the NFL, the COVID-19/Reserve list is made for players who either test positive for COVID-19 or who have been quarantined after having been in close contact with an infected person or persons.

Over the weekend, the National Hockey League (NHL) also confirmed that 39 games involving cross-border travel between Canada and the U.S. were called off.  

"With the number one priority of maintaining the health and safety of our NHL community, and amid changing and unpredictable conditions, we are determined to remain flexible and adaptable both in terms of scheduling and in adjusting Protocols as necessary," the NHL and NHL Players' Association said in a statement.

The mass cancellations have placed NHL stars' participation in the 2022 Winter Olympics in serious doubt.  

According to the original plan, the NHL will take a three-week break in February so its players can take part in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014, but due to the nightmarish fixture pile-ups, the league might now be forced to use that time to play the rescheduled games.