Source: Daily_Mail
Wigan and West Ham clashes cancelled as Big Freeze claims seven Premier League fixtures
Wigan's Barclays Premier League home match against Aston Villa, scheduled for this afternoon and West Ham's home tie against Wolves, have been postponed.[LNB]A frozen pitch at the DW Stadium accounted for the Latics' clash, while conditions in the area surrounding Upton Park have put paid to West Ham's clash.[LNB]A Premier League spokesman said: "It is unfortunate that these matches have had to be called off, however the advice from the statutory authorities in light of continuing adverse weather conditions was to postpone.[LNB]'Clearly the safety of supporters in these circumstances is paramount and the league and clubs have acted quickly to ensure as few unnecessary journeys are undertaken as possible.[LNB]'Fans are advised to monitor club websites to keep up to date with any further developments regarding the weekend's remaining Barclays Premier League fixtures.[LNB]'The Premier League will work with the clubs concerned to reschedule postponedfixtures as soon as practically possible.'[LNB]Click here for the lowdown on how the big freeze has blitzed the weekend fixture list Renewed hostilities: Robbie Keane (centre) looks likely to have to wait if he is to notch against the club he left after just six months[LNB]Wigan's pitch heating system broke down at around 5pm yesterday, causing this morning's abandonment.[LNB]Wigan manager Roberto Martinez said: 'We are devastated because theclub has worked so hard in these freak weather conditions to make thearea surrounding the stadium safe.[LNB]'The pitch has never been the problem, until now. I have tocongratulate our safety team at the stadium who have worked tirelesslyto try and clear the area of ice and snow over the past few days. Ourground staff have also spent several nights at the stadium making thesure the pitch remained playable.'[LNB]A Liverpool spokesman said: 'The football side of the club obviously wanted to play the match.[LNB]'But this is a safety issue. The local roads around Anfield are little more than sheets of ice and very dangerous. The police and the local council both agreed with our request to the league.'[LNB]Fulham had similar concerns. A statement on their website said: 'The safety of supporters is of paramount importance to the Club andfollowing an inspection of the areas surrounding Craven Cottage onFriday morning it was deemed unsafe for fans to travel.[LNB]'The Club can confirm that all tickets for Saturday's game will be validfor the re-arranged fixture date which will be announced in due course.' [LNB]Sunderland's Safety Advisory Group chairman Ken Scott added: 'Clearly the combination of a number of factors has led us to make this decision.[LNB]'The early timing has been deliberate in order to avoid many thousands of people embarking on unnecessary and potentially hazardous journeys.'[LNB]Arsenal's match with Bolton became the first Premier League match to suffer a similar fate, when it was called off on Wednesday. [LNB]Both Carling Cup ties this week were also unplayable. [LNB] THE BIG FOOTBALL FREEZE: Sporting fixtures falling as fast as the snow - Sportsmail's list of the postponed matchesNow we're running out of grit: Councils forced to ration dwindling supplies as Britain faces weekend of chaos ALL THE LATEST FULHAM FC
