Referee defends late postponement

Ward is in his second season as a Football League referee

Referee Gavin Ward said he had no option but to postpone Lincoln City's match against Darlington at Sincil Bank on Saturday on safety grounds.

Ward called off the match 90 minutes before kick-off because of a frozen section of the pitch near the byline.

He told BBC Radio Lincolnshire: "There are areas which are still frozen and although the club have had heaters on it, it hasn't thawed enough.

"It was a difficult decision but player safety has to come first."

He added: "Based on the weather forecast I could not have made an earlier decision to prevent Darlington travelling.

"Most of the pitch has thawed out but there is still an area of concern. It is a relatively small area and although both managers wanted the game to go ahead, my priority has to be the players' safety.

Lincoln manager Peter Jackson said: "It's frustrating. At 12 o'clock you would have said it was playable but when we came back at 1330 he took the decision that perhaps less than ten yards of the pitch which doesn't get the sun on it was unplayable.

"We wanted the game to go ahead, so I'm disappointed and I'm sure Dave [Penney, Darlington manager] is as well."