Premier League matches lost to weather
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Seven Premier League weekend fixtures have been postponed this weekend, leaving only two top flight fixtures standing on Saturday.
Wigan Athletic's clash with Aston Villa at the DW Stadium became the sixth match to be postponed due to the freezing conditions.
The Latics had been confident the game would be on but ultimately it was not able to beat the big freeze after their undersoil heating broke down.
League officials then announced that Sunday's match between West Ham and Wolverhampton Wanderers would not go ahead due to conditions in the area surrounding Upton Park.
The elements had already claimed Fulham's home game with Portsmouth, Stoke City's trip to Burnley, Sunderland's clash with Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool's game with Tottenham Hotspur and Hull City's televised home date with Chelsea, meaning only the games between Birmingham City and Manchester United, and Arsenal and Everton survived in the top flight.
The Premier League defended the number of postponements, saying clubs were restricted by advice from police and local authorities worried about fans’ safety.
Premier League spokesman Dan Johnson said: "We spoke to all the clubs on Thursday and they said they would talk to the police and the On Friday, they came back and said they had been advised to postpone.
"Although we share the fans’ frustrations and want to get fixtures away, we have to take the advice of statutory bodies. If we didn’t and there was an accident, we’d be open to criticism.
"The only match that wasn’t called off because of police advice was Wigan and they had a failure with the undersoil heating.
"We will ask them about it and send engineers to have a look. It is severe weather and you can understand that local authorities can err on the side of caution. We don’t feel the clubs had any alternative but to postpone their games."
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Wigan Athletic's clash with Aston Villa at the DW Stadium became the sixth match to be postponed due to the freezing conditions.
The Latics had been confident the game would be on but ultimately it was not able to beat the big freeze after their undersoil heating broke down.
League officials then announced that Sunday's match between West Ham and Wolverhampton Wanderers would not go ahead due to conditions in the area surrounding Upton Park.
The elements had already claimed Fulham's home game with Portsmouth, Stoke City's trip to Burnley, Sunderland's clash with Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool's game with Tottenham Hotspur and Hull City's televised home date with Chelsea, meaning only the games between Birmingham City and Manchester United, and Arsenal and Everton survived in the top flight.
The Premier League defended the number of postponements, saying clubs were restricted by advice from police and local authorities worried about fans’ safety.
Premier League spokesman Dan Johnson said: "We spoke to all the clubs on Thursday and they said they would talk to the police and the On Friday, they came back and said they had been advised to postpone.
"Although we share the fans’ frustrations and want to get fixtures away, we have to take the advice of statutory bodies. If we didn’t and there was an accident, we’d be open to criticism.
"The only match that wasn’t called off because of police advice was Wigan and they had a failure with the undersoil heating.
"We will ask them about it and send engineers to have a look. It is severe weather and you can understand that local authorities can err on the side of caution. We don’t feel the clubs had any alternative but to postpone their games."
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