Wigan-Bolton postponed on safety grounds

December 21, 2009

Wigan Athletic’s Premier League match at home to Bolton Wanderers on Monday has been postponed on safety grounds, officials have announced.

Although undersoil heating meant the pitch at the DW Stadium was playable and there were no safety issues inside the ground itself, surrounding areas were, a Wigan statement said, “deemed not safe for the public”.

Recent cold weather in Britain had, the club added, left them with no choice but to postpone the match several hours before Monday’s scheduled 2000GMT kick-off despite their best effors to ensure it went ahead.

Wigan’s statement added: “With a mile of private roads and 10 acres of car parks to maintain, much of which are still under ice, and with weather forecasts predicting a temperature drop to minus six degrees tonight, the collective decision between the club and the police has unfortunately been made to postpone the match.

“Several of the DW Stadium car parks have steep gradients which, despite extensive gritting, cannot be made safe.

“Also, to comply with Premier League regulations, the club require a certain number of safety stewards to be in attendance at matches.

“With the roads around the region being so hazardous the club could not guarantee that all the staff will be able to arrive safely prior to the kick-off.”

No new date has yet been set for the fixture.

Wigan are currently 16th in the table, two points above north-west rivals Bolton who are in one of the three relegation places.

WIGAN, England (AFP)

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