Snow wreaks havoc with British sport

Heavy snow and freezing temperatures wreaked havoc with the Premier League on Saturday, forcing the postponement of three fixtures and threatening several more.

Wigan’s home match against Aston Villa and Liverpool’s late game against Fulham were both axed due to heavy overnight snow before Birmingham’s tie with Newcastle at St Andrews was called off, club officials confirmed.

Although Anfield’s pitch is protected by undersoil heating, a Liverpool spokesman said the game was called off after police warned of treacherous conditions around the ground with sub-zero temperatures forecast for later.

“Club officials met with the police this morning to assess the prevailing weather conditions,” said a Liverpool spokesman.

“The safety of all fans attending the game is paramount and although the Anfield pitch is playable, the conditions around the stadium and further afield for people travelling to the match are such that the decision was taken, following police advice on safety grounds, to postpone the game.”

The Latics earlier issued a statement confirming their game had been postponed, citing “freak snow” as the reason.

Birmingham also cited safety concerns for the decision to call off their game, saying the decision had been taken despite round the work efforts by the Blues ground staff to make the pitch playable.

The postponements left only three games to be played across the Premier League on Saturday, with Sunderland facing Bolton at the Stadium of Light in the early kick-off and Blackburn due to face West Ham at Ewood Park.

Arsenal’s match with Stoke was due to go ahead although television news reports showed a blizzard enveloping the Gunners’ Emirates Stadium as heavy snow fell across north London.

Outside the Premiership, a slew of matches in the Championship and lower leagues were called off.

In Scotland, Hamilton’s home game with Celtic became the fourth Scottish Premier League match to fall victim to the weather after the Rangers-St Mirren, Aberdeen-Motherwell and St Johnstone-Dundee United were postponed on Friday.