Burnley’s clash with Tottenham has been abandoned because of snow – even though Sean Dyche was out in a shirt at Turf Moor.
The Clarets were due to host Spurs in one of four 2pm kick offs in the Premier League on Sunday on a day of wintry weather across the north of the country.
Snow has been falling over much of Lancashire all morning and a confirmation of the match abandonment was made around 45 minutes before kick off.
“Due to concerns with the playing surface and surrounding areas, it’s been deemed that the game can’t go ahead safely,” Burnley said.
Turf Moor sits almost 400ft above sea level and is regularly battered by weather fronts coming in off the west coast.
Sunday has seen snow clouds meander down central Scotland and across the north of England. Manchester City’s home clash with West Ham went ahead as planned, although there was also a smattering of white dust across the Etihad field.
An army of staff had been out on the Turf Moor field hoping to plough away the snow before kick off, only for a fresh dusting to appear almost as soon as the spades passed.
Yet the weather didn’t appear to have impacted on Dyche – the Burnley boss who would have dearly loved to have played against Antonio Conte’s Spurs in such conditions.
The 50-year-old inspected the field with his players ahead of kick off in just a shirt, tie and suit trousers – his jacket and coat seemingly being left in the dressing room.
“As you can see the pitch re-covers every time they clear it,” Dyche said. “The referee explained the safety angle as well so it was important to make a decision early.
“It fell that quick and that heavy. It’s still quite strong now. [The pitch] can’t get rid of the snow that quick.
The latest radar sequence is showing a band of #sleet and #snow with rain near the coast continuing to move south as shown below
— Met Office (@metoffice) November 28, 2021
Stay #WeatherAwarepic.twitter.com/EoWqlheW6H
“It’s the lines being cleared as well – we would have to stop and clear them. It’s a joint decision with everyone concerned.
“We were ready for the game and I made it clear if it could be played we wanted it on – as did their manager.
“I can’t see how it could go ahead the way the pitch is at the moment.”
The abandonment meant Spurs fans who travelled the four-and-a-half-hour, 240-mile journey from London had no choice but to turn back for home.
But that journey paled into insignificance compared to one fan, who posted on Twitter about how he had flown in from Dallas for the game.
“Dallas to London to Burnley (almost there) 31 hours – no sleep – fueled by coffee, cheese crackers and more coffee,” podcaster @SaxyKeN17 had posted before the game was abandoned. “Frigid temps and snow predicted for match day. The things we do when you love your club”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3cSAIQm
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