Club statement on this afternoon’s postponement of Southend United match

Everyone at the football club is frustrated by today’s decision. First of all, we’d like to acknowledge the length that home and away supporters have travelled and wish them a safe journey home. We hope to see as many of them as possible on Tuesday night.

At 9 am, we inspected the pitch and deemed it to be playable. Frost covers were in place overnight and there were no concerns with the pitch upon arrival. This was communicated to the match referee and he felt no need to arrive to the stadium earlier to inspect.

When the referee arrived at 1 pm, he expressed concerns over a run-off area on the Popular Side and went on to express further concerns about general pitch deterioration whilst inspections were taking place.

As a club run by volunteers, we did everything in our power to ensure the game went ahead as planned. We would like to reiterate that this was a refereeing decision made on the basis of player safety, something paramount to us all.

We completely understand and sympathise with the frustrations of both sets of supporters, but this was a decision that – ultimately – was out of our hands.

Supporters who are wishing to claim refunds on their tickets can do so here: https://www.bathcityfc.com/ticket-refund-exchange-policy/