Scunthorpe United have criticised referee Mark Haywood’s decision to postpone yesterday’s local derby with Doncaster Rovers at Glanford Park according to the Scunthorpe Telegraph.
The Iron have labelled the match official’s decision as ‘premature’ and the club have posted pictures on Twitter of a Glanford Park playing surface in playable condition.
Referee Haywood conducted a pitch inspection at Glanford Park at 12.15pm after heavy morning rain had left the playing surface saturated however the heavy rain had stopped and with no further significant rainfall forecast before the 3pm kick off The Iron’s ground staff believed that the pitch would drain sufficiently to enable the match to proceed.
It is understood that ground staff discussed the favourable weather forecast with Haywood but the referee made the decision to postpone the fixture with many travelling Doncaster Rovers fans already on their way to Glanford Park.
At 3pm The Iron posted pictures of a perfectly playable Glanford Park on their official Twitter page proving that the referee had made an incorrect decision to postpone the match without taking a further look at the pitch.
Here's how the pitch looks at what would have been kick-off here at Glanford Park. #UTI pic.twitter.com/iNuIHGVD6B
— Scunthorpe United FC (@SUFCOfficial) February 6, 2016
Scunthorpe United were set to go into yesterday’s match looking to record a first derby double over local rivals Doncaster Rovers in almost 25 years while Rovers were looking to extend their unbeaten run away from home to 8 matches. A bumper crowd was expected to attend the fixture at Glanford Park including around 1,700 Doncaster Rovers fans.
