Bradford City's League Two fixture with Crawley Town postponed

Bradford City's League Two fixture with Crawley Town has been postponed - marking the third consecutive match the Bantams have had called off.
POSTPONED: Bradford City's match with Crawley Town has been called off. Picture: Getty Images.POSTPONED: Bradford City's match with Crawley Town has been called off. Picture: Getty Images.
POSTPONED: Bradford City's match with Crawley Town has been called off. Picture: Getty Images.

Referee Bobby Madley visited Valley Parade on Friday afternoon and deemed the playing surface safe to use.

However, the Utilita Energy Stadium has been deemed unsafe as a wider facility due to snow and ice in areas surrounding the ground.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Snow and ice was cleared from the frost covers in its entirety after hours of work from the club's ground staff. The covers had remained on the pitch since Wednesday.

"The efforts of the ground staff have been superb and, from a playing perspective, there is no issue whatsoever," said Madley, as Bradford hoped to avoid another fixture postponement.

"All the snow has been cleared from the surface, and the pitch is still a decent one.

"There is obviously a much bigger picture than the playing perspective though, and the roads around the ground certainly do not look or feel safe.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"The EFL have to take into account the fact the away side have a long distance to travel, and are likely to be bringing their team coach down Valley Parade.

"The ground staff here have put me in a position to say that the pitch is fine, so massive credit goes to them, but there are much bigger decisions to be made in terms of safety outside the ground."

City's chief executive officer, Ryan Sparks, added: "We have worked tirelessly to ensure the pitch is playable, and that remains the case.

"The playing surface is not frozen and is in good condition, however surrounding areas of the stadium are extremely unsafe and this has caused concerns.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"Given where we are in society, we do not wish to put people’s welfare at risk and potentially add further strain to the country’s already-stretched emergency services.

"We are naturally disappointed to have lost the fixture. It will be close to a month by the time we next take to the field.

"However, given the conditions around the Utilita Energy Stadium - and an adverse forecast which could bring even more snow overnight - we are sadly unable to play the game."

Bradford haven't played since the end of December when they drew 0-0 with Port Vale.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Their following fixture against Morecambe on January 2 was postponed due to a Covid-19 breakout at the Shrimps while last week's trip to Scunthorpe United was called off due to a frozen pitch.

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you'll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click HERE to subscribe.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.