Cold weather bites hard

08 January 2010 13:47

Sunderland's Premier League clash with Bolton became the third top-flight match to be postponed as the freezing weather continued to decimate the weekend's sporting fixtures.

The game was called off following a recommendation from the city's Safety Advisory Group, who met for a second time on Friday morning.

Safety Advisory Group chairman Ken Scott said in a statement on www.safc.com: "Clearly the combination of a number of factors has led us to make this decision. The early timing has been deliberate in order to avoid many thousands of people embarking on unnecessary and potentially hazardous journeys."

Fulham felt it was too dangerous for fans to gain access to their Craven Cottage ground for their meeting with Portsmouth.

A club statement read: "Saturday's Barclays Premier League fixture against Portsmouth at the Cottage has been postponed due to the adverse weather conditions which are not expected to improve over the next 24 hours."

Burnley's Turf Moor meeting with Stoke also fell foul of the cold as it was called off due to "adverse conditions".

And there may be further postponements in the top flight with Liverpool's clash with Tottenham on Sunday in doubt after the Anfield club recommended to the Premier League that the game be postponed, again due to conditions in areas surrounding the stadium.

The postponement of Saturday's Coca-Cola Championship fixtures between Middlesbrough and Swansea at the Riverside and QPR and Plymouth at Loftus road mean there are only four fixtures remaining in English football's second tier.

League One's remaining fixtures still standing are Leeds United v Wycombe and Norwich v Exeter, while the entire League Two schedule has fallen foul to the weather.

Source: PA