 Newcastle's pitch was deemed playable, but the game was still called off |
Newcastle and Charlton have hit out after battling in vain against bad weather to play Wednesday's match. The Premiership game was called off just 25 minutes before kick-off because of safety concerns for fans outside St James' Park after a heavy snow shower.
That was despite the pitch being deemed playable by the match referee.
Both clubs have complained to Newcastle City Council, claiming it did not prepare adequately, but the local authority insists it did all it could.
Charlton chief executive Peter Varney said: "The ground staff did a great job getting all the snow off the pitch.
"But what was going on outside the ground was quite unacceptable. A normal 10-minute drive was taking an hour.
"None of the main routes in nor any of the roads around the ground had been gritted - there were cars sliding past us, cars on the pavement and being abandoned.
"You had to see it to believe it. There was just no gritting at all - the roads were like ice-rinks.
"The gritting lorries appeared at 2230 GMT, and for that situation to happen in a major city like Newcastle is just totally unacceptable."
Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd revealed the club spent �100,000 in their attempt to get the game played.
"We can only control what goes on in the stadium - we can't do anything about the approach roads.
"The roads took a turn for the worse. It took me an hour to drive three miles and I didn't see any gritters."
It is understood that Newcastle City Council officials also wanted the game to be played in order to grit the roads while fans were inside the ground.
In response to the clubs' complaints, general manager of environmental services Rob Nichols said: "The council's team of gritters had been working across the city all day prior to the match being abandoned.
"However, a heavy snowfall, which coincided with rush hour traffic and rapidly reducing temperatures, resulted in poor driving conditions.
"Because of the amount of snow and the slow pace of the traffic the salt was not worked into the road, resulting in icy driving conditions.
"To compound the situation, due to the severe traffic congestion it proved difficult to get the gritting vehicles to some of the roads in most need.
"The council is continuing to do everything possible to ensure that roads across the city are clear of snow and ice and safe for motorists."
Northumbria Police confirmed it was a second snow shower at 1900 GMT that led to the match being postponed - the game was eventually called off at 1920 GMT.
Newcastle Match Commander, Superintendent Steve Storey, said: "I neither advised or requested the club to postpone the game.
"However I can understand why they made their decision. It is unfortunate that this was taken so near to kick-off.
"I can appreciate the frustrations of the fans, particularly those from Charlton Athletic who travelled on coaches from London and never actually made it to the ground."
Referee Mike Dean had cleared the game to go ahead after a pitch inspection, but was later overruled.
"My jurisdiction is the green bit, and that was playable, but when the safety says there's a problem outside, I can't say there isn't."
A club spokesman added: "The safety of spectators and players is extremely important bearing in mind the overall duty of care under health and safety legislation and the ground safety certificate.
"It was unfortunate that the match had to be called off. However, this decision was not taken lightly and it was done with the best intentions for all concerned."
MMIX
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
We can only control what goes on in the stadium - we can't do anything about the approach roads
