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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fantasy Premier League (FPL) took a backseat on Saturday (December 16) amid troubling scenes in the Bournemouth v Luton game.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hatters captain Tom Lockyer collapsed in the 59th minute, leading to the match to be abandoned.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It was confirmed Lockyer had suffered a cardiac arrest but thanks to the efforts of medical professionals, he was later described as &#8216;alert and responsive&#8217;.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fantasy Football Hub places on record its best wishes to Lockyer and all those affected by the incident.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In such circumstances, fantasy points seem immaterial, however FPL does now have a tricky task on its hand in dealing with the issue.</span></p>
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<h2>Update: FPL voids Bournemouth and Luton player points</h2>
<p>Luton confirmed on Wednesday (December 20) that the match would be replayed in its entirety:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;The Premier League Board has decided that last Saturday’s fixture with AFC Bournemouth will be replayed in full.</p>
<p>&#8220;The game will be rescheduled for later in the season, with a date to be confirmed following consultation with relevant parties.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Luton Town ticket office would like to add that ticketing information regarding the rearranged game will be announced in due course.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>The Premier League followed suit with a similar <a href="https://www.premierleague.com/news/3830154">statement</a>.</p>
<p>And at 17:45, FPL confirmed its decision in relation to points earned from the match. It tweeted:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Following the announcement Bournemouth v Luton will be replayed in full at a later date, Gameweek 17 will now be closed and the game will update shortly.</p>
<p>&#8220;Points achieved by players in the original fixture will be voided. Normal auto-subs and vice-captain rules apply.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Our original article is documented below and includes solutions reached by other major fantasy formats, with Sky confirming its plan on Thursday.</p>
<div id="attachment_60628" style="width: 685px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-60628" class="size-full wp-image-60628" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Bournemouth-announcement.jpg" alt="The Official FPL tweet" width="675" height="369" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Bournemouth-announcement.jpg 675w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Bournemouth-announcement-300x164.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Bournemouth-announcement-610x333.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px" /><p id="caption-attachment-60628" class="wp-caption-text">The Official FPL tweet</p></div>
<h2>What happens in FPL when a match is abandoned?</h2>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There is little clarity in the official FPL rules and terms and conditions regarding mid-match abandonments.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The last time this happened in the Premier League was back in December 2006, when Watford v Wigan was abandoned part-way through due to a waterlogged pitch.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Back then, it looks like the fixture was deleted from the FPL fixture list, suggesting the points did not count.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But that was some 17 years ago, and fantasy fans of today are currently in the dark. Points from the match are currently added to teams&#8217; totals, without bonus points.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A statement from FPL on Sunday read:</span></p>
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<blockquote><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;Gameweek 17 will remain open after the conclusion of Sunday’s matches. More information will follow in due course.&#8221;</span></p></blockquote>
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<div id="attachment_60525" style="width: 932px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-60525" class="wp-image-60525 size-large" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Abandoned-FPL-match-922x1024.jpg" alt="" width="922" height="1024" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Abandoned-FPL-match-922x1024.jpg 922w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Abandoned-FPL-match-270x300.jpg 270w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Abandoned-FPL-match-768x853.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Abandoned-FPL-match-610x677.jpg 610w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Abandoned-FPL-match.jpg 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 922px) 100vw, 922px" /><p id="caption-attachment-60525" class="wp-caption-text">FPL back in 2006</p></div>
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<h2 dir="auto">What do the FPL rules say about abandoned matches?</h2>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">FPL&#8217;s holding statement helps to counteract what little is said in the rules about late changes to points, which would be required if FPL decides to void anything scored in the 1-1 draw.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The FPL website states:</span></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;Player points are updated as the matches take place, whilst team points and league tables are usually updated 2 hours after the final whistle in the last match of the day.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;Bonus points will be awarded one hour after the final whistle of the last match of any given day.&#8221;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And under the section &#8216;Finalising assists&#8217;, it adds:</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;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.</span></p></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;Once the points have all been updated on that day, no further adjustments to points will be made unless under extraordinary circumstances.&#8221;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">By keeping the gameweek &#8216;open&#8217; then, it leaves the door open to FPL making adjustments to points. The solution however remains unclear.</span></p>
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<div id="attachment_60524" style="width: 568px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-60524" class="size-full wp-image-60524" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Bournemouth-v-Luton.jpg" alt="" width="558" height="465" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Bournemouth-v-Luton.jpg 558w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Bournemouth-v-Luton-300x250.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 558px) 100vw, 558px" /><p id="caption-attachment-60524" class="wp-caption-text">How the match unfolded before it was abandoned</p></div>
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<p><b>Dominic Solanke (£6.8m)</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> owners are the main ones holding their breath.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The striker, who scored the Cherries&#8217; equaliser, is in 17.2% of teams.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He was the most popular transfer in ahead of Gameweek 17, largely as a replacement for the injured </span><b>Erling Haaland (£13.9m)</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Solanke was on for the maximum three bonus points at the time the players went off the pitch, with a nine-point haul at stake for those who own him.</span></p>
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<div id="attachment_60376" style="width: 808px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-60376" class="size-full wp-image-60376" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Dominic-Solanke-Stats.jpg" alt="Dominic Solanke Stats" width="798" height="650" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Dominic-Solanke-Stats.jpg 798w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Dominic-Solanke-Stats-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Dominic-Solanke-Stats-768x626.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Dominic-Solanke-Stats-610x497.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 798px) 100vw, 798px" /><p id="caption-attachment-60376" class="wp-caption-text">Dominic Solanke&#8217;s <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a> going into the weekend</p></div>
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<h2 class="adL" dir="auto">How have other major fantasy formats dealt with the Solanke news?</h2>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In contrast to FPL, Telegraph Fantasy Football&#8217;s (TFF) rules are clear on abandoned matches. They state:</span></p>
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<blockquote><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;Points from abandoned matches will not count towards scoring in the competition.&#8221;</span></p></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sun Dream Team&#8217;s rules are also clear. They say:</span></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;If any Eligible Match is abandoned for any reason then that Eligible Match will cease to be treated as an Eligible Match for the purposes of the Game. If the match is replayed then the replay will be treated as an Eligible Match.&#8221;</span></p></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sky Sports Fantasy Football&#8217;s rules do not appear to cater directly for match abandonments, with points scored from the abandoned match currently showing as normal.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In different circumstances however, points have been altered retrospectively, typically for changes to Opta data affecting bonus points.</span></p>
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<p>On Thursday, Sky tweeted:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;With the match between Bournemouth and Luton set to be replayed in full, points from Saturday&#8217;s abandoned game will be removed.</p>
<p>&#8220;With the game being replayed in full at a later date, we believe this is the best course of action to take. We appreciate this isn&#8217;t ideal and apologise for any inconvenience to your teams.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<h2 dir="auto">What will happen to the Bournemouth v Luton game?</h2>
<p>Football Association rules explain that abandoned matches should be replayed &#8216;unless the competition rules or organisers determine otherwise&#8217;.</p>
<p>They go on to say they should be played in their entirety, indicating the two sides would start again from scratch and a future double gameweek in FPL would be created.</p>
<p>But Premier League rules also leave wriggle room, stating:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;The board may order a league match which for whatever reasons lasts for less than 90 minutes to count as a completed fixture or to be replayed either partially or in its entirety.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
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FPL points voided after Bournemouth v Luton abandonment

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