Referee Grant Hegley has explained his decision to postpone this afternoon’s home game against Watford only 90 minutes before kick-off. With the Town pitch having been covered for the last few days, there had been no previous hint that the match was in any danger and Blues chief executive Simon Clegg expressed his surprise at the call-off, particularly given that the Leicester game went ahead a week ago.

Hegley says he arrived at Portman Road at lunchtime and met with Town groundsman Alan Ferguson: "I turned up at the ground about 12.30pm and immediately spoke to the Ipswich groundsman, he highlighted a number of areas of the pitch that were of concern to him.

"I looked at it and some of it was under thick frost. He said he could work on it so I gave him 45 minutes until 1.15pm - where he put large amounts of salt and boiling water in the hope that it would soften it up.

"Some areas did soften up but unfortunately it became inconsistent where there were still large amounts of frost and soft areas and you have to think of the safety of the player running at full tilt - getting a stud in one area which stops nicely and then the next area where they slip. The safety of the players is of paramount importance to me.

"As a referee we get all the weather forecasts for the area, it was going to go up to a maximum of 1 degree by about 3.30pm and then by 5pm it was forecast to be down to -1 again. So, there was no warmth going to come through, whilst the groundstaff tried their hardest to get it on, it was to no avail.”

Chief executive Clegg sympathised with fans with many already at Portman Road when the decision was taken: “It is very unfortunate and I feel sorry for the supporters who travelled. It seems amazing that the match with Leicester City that was shown worldwide in horrific conditions went ahead and was completed and that this one was called off.

“The situation is entirely down to the referee and he deemed that it was dangerous for players running from the soft area, which was the majority of the ground, to a small area that was harder.

“The groundstaff worked tirelessly to get the pitch as best as they could and we had the protective cover with hot air underneath.

“The last resort was to take buckets of hot water on to the pitch to defrost the hard area along one touchline. But this was freezing.

“I understand people going into the ground will look at the pitch and think it was perfectly playable but the referee decided there was a problem which couldn't be overcome.”

Questions will be asked as to why referee Hegley arrived at the ground quite so near to the scheduled kick-off, last week's official Stuart Attwell having been at Portman Road for his pitch inspection more than five hours before the Leicester match was due to start, and why Town didn't make it clear that the game was in peril once the situation became clear.

Photo: Action Images

You_Bloo_Right added 15:48 - Dec 26 So do we need undersoil heating? Will this become a pre-requisite for, at least at first, Premiership clubs (3 home Blackpool games in a row called off)?
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Suffolk_n_Good added 15:52 - Dec 26 Why wasn't the ref there a damn sight earlier then?, really pi**ed off about it being cancelled so close to kick off.
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PSGBlue added 15:59 - Dec 26 “It is very unfortunate and I feel sorry for the supporters who travelled. It seems amazing that the match with Leicester City that was shown worldwide in horrific conditions went ahead and was completed and that this one was called off" Mr Clegg really does not seem to know much about playing football. Its not down to the weather as much has the pitch conditions. For your info Mr Clegg, the pitch at KO against Leicester was soft with a light covering of snow. Eventually we got 1-2 inches of snow on it, but it was still soft and safe. This week the pitch, where it has either not been covered properly or has not received too much hot air has been subject to sub-zero temperatures, as a result that part of the pitch is rock hard and dangerous to play on. We have had already had long term injuries to Murphy's and O'Conners this week. We would not have wanted another injury on top of those two. The referee was right to call the game off if part of the pitch is rock hard, just like at Derby and Crystal Palace. What is annoying us Mr Clegg is why with temperatures well below zero overnight did the club not have an earlier pitch inspection. Its your staff who are the experts at monitoring the pitch conditions all week, not the referee!

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Karlosfandangal added 16:03 - Dec 26 Still cant believe that some people have said Keane out because the match was called off.
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PSGBlue added 16:05 - Dec 26 Karlosfandangal: Its because its hard to get out of the habit on a Saturday evening!
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ITFCAlex added 16:23 - Dec 26 Okay, you've called it off. Fair enough, but, as mentioned above, why not get there earlier and also, "I gave him 45 minutes until 1.15pm". If that was the case, then why not give a warning to fans that the game was in doubt. Yes, it wouldn't have made much difference but at least there'd have been some warning. January/February could get busy.
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dazzamanman added 16:38 - Dec 26 Just got home from Ipswich and I have throughly enjoyed my 4 hour drive to Portman Rd car park and back. A morning inspection would've been nice guys as people do have to make plans and travel to these games. But I suppose the ref had too much to drink and wasn't fit to drive to the ground first thing!! At least I have had another 130 miles added to my 20 years experience of driving so that's good isn't it.....Ho Ho Ho....

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adamisablue added 16:50 - Dec 26 ermmm ive got nothing to say so....keane out? (just kidding) this christmas season is now becoming ridculous. the lower leagues fixture list has been cripples this last 3 or 4 weeks or so, and to ask teams (especily the teams with little depth in the squad) to play somthing stupid like 9 games in 2 weeks is stupid anyways. surley givin all the evidence its about time to introduce a winter break? most of the major european countries do (france holland germany) it will help the national side and reduce injurys casued by fatigue. and we get 3 extra weeks of football. result all round :)

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adamisablue added 16:51 - Dec 26 ~thats supposed to be crippled before anyone reports me for abuse...
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jas0999 added 16:52 - Dec 26 Doncaster have called a pitch inspection and have raised concerns a DAY before the match. Clegg and ITFC take note. Referee in fairness probably didn't think there was an issue- no point telling him at 12:30 - he should have been called at 08:00. ITFC - you really are prize idiots - led by Mr. Clegg who I'll be asking to re-imburse my parking costs as an absolute minimum!

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sohamblue added 16:55 - Dec 26 Thanks ref, just wasted half tank of petrol cos of your very late decision, surely it could have been inspected earlier, Pitch was ok last sat, oh might have been something to do with the power of sky tv ??
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MaySixth added 17:08 - Dec 26 The referee is a cun.. t
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RetroBlue added 17:20 - Dec 26 do we need undersoil heating ? ...Id say possible. But how about a ref that actually gets to the ground BEFORE lunchtime , to make a frigging decision! Bloody outrageous, . I say again, do these people not give a flying F@' about the fans ?? Did they really expect fans from both clubs to not travel until 1pm ? Frigging stupid idiot REF !!!
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august10 added 17:24 - Dec 26 Been down to ground to try and get a refund, which I can have until the game is rearranged. Why was the match called off so late got to feel sorry for all those Watford fans who travelled, we got a game on against Leicester that in my opinion should never have been played because of TV, but failed to get this on because I hear from inside sources that the blower was not on all night. This is Alan Ferguson first mistake really rate him as a grondsman but feel the club slipped up as they would have had a bumper gate and now onl-y get about 16,000 for a new midweek date what a shambles I hope they get relegated!!!!

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BerkshireBlue added 17:58 - Dec 26 Nearly 3 hours to drive to Ipswich, tuned into BBC Radio Suffolk at Copdock at about 13.10, ten minutes later as I approached Sainsbury's I got the bad news!! Before the return journey I mingled with a few Town and Watford fans outside the ground and like me they were stunned by the decision. Why on earth the pitch inspection was left so late is beyond me. Alan Ferguson, a brilliant carer of grass, should have had his team putting boiling water on the pitch throughout the morning, not for 30 minutes or so after the referee first had a look!! I doubt I will make the rearranged midweek game but cannot get a refund for this postponed game until the new date is announced! All in all not a great Boxing Day!! (Apologies for all the exclamation marks!)

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jas0999 added 18:16 - Dec 26 I think it's important to point out that this is NOT 100% the Ref's fault. ITFC are responsible for monitoring the pitch - note Doncaster have CALLED a pitch inspection for tomorrow - a good 24 hours before the game. The REF has not called the inspection - the CLUB have. So, ITFC and CLEGG - why didn't YOU call it earlier??????? The answer I am afraid is they don't care about the fans.

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ramseyn added 18:29 - Dec 26 Any co-incidence the players had Xmas day off which is unusual, together with two games in three days which can be a bit of a task. Much more chance of picking up points in the next few days against teams who have already played fixtures, never had a match cancelled in previous number of years......... Can't be that difficult for a groundsman to get the game off if instructed????

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RAH4 added 18:53 - Dec 26 Wasted round trip of over 300 miles. Can accept the decision but the timing , communication and lack of warning of any concerns over the game was very poor. Potentially another midweek game ,which as a long distance season ticket holder is not helpful. ITFC comes out of this badly all round.
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Facefacts added 19:03 - Dec 26 Everybody gets Christmas Day off. No Sky tapping us on the shoulder to do everything possible to keep the game on. If we'd really wanted the game on, we would have had to be in yesterday, using up more cost and hot air. Ref rightly turns up thinking we'd done everything possible, no blame to him. It's ITFC complacency, Mr Clegg tucking in to turkey, expecting the ground will just be fit to play, I agree with some of the accusations that we are like a non-league club. Just like getting only 3,000 tkts for Chelsea. It's laughable pouring hot water and salt on to areas of the pitch. Keystone cops stuff.

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RAH4 added 19:10 - Dec 26 Wasted round trip of over 300 miles. Can accept the decision but the timing , communication and lack of warning of any concerns over the game was very poor. Potentially another midweek game ,which as a long distance season ticket holder is not helpful. ITFC comes out of this badly all round.
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statto72 added 19:10 - Dec 26 I too, have had a wasted 300 mile round trip and was about 10 miles from Ipswich when I learned the bad news. Not only this but I arrive at Portman Road at about 2.03 pm....... to find they have closed Planet Blue. A quick trot to the Buttermarket store and I find thats closed too, despite that they advertise themselves as open till 3pm! In terms of safety i guess the right decision was made to call the game off, but shutting the store barely 30 mins after the postponement was announced? Disgraceful. You'd think they would open a bit longer.... say 3pm? My disappointed daughter says she will be spending her Xmas money somewhere else. Sod mail order with the postage charges. All in all, the whole episode is very poor PR in my view.

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Facefacts added 19:16 - Dec 26 Having said what I just said on Page 1, and seen the groundsman's interview that only 5% of the pitch was frozen, I still think the referee had the Leicester game looming large in his mind too, but we should not have given him that 5% loophole he needed to call it off.
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ramseyn added 19:17 - Dec 26 Facefacts, usual procedure is that players have a light session on Xmas day. They don't have Xmas day off hence keane making a point of it this week.
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KilburnBlue added 20:35 - Dec 26 I agree with statto72 I took my 7 year old nephew with me today to watch his first ever home game to obviously find out the game was called off, so not to make the day a complete waste of time (after a 5 hour round journey) I thought I take him to the Ipswich Store to buy him some gifts to try to make up for the day only to find that it had closed at 2pm! I just personally think its a shame that the club could not have kept the store open to at least kick off to maybe soften the blow for some of the youngings who may have been disappointed by the game being called off today,.

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onlybluesandhorses added 23:38 - Dec 26 "Questions will be asked as to why:- 1. referee Hegley arrived at the ground quite so near to the scheduled kick-off, last week's official Stuart Attwell having been at Portman Road for his pitch inspection more than five hours before the Leicester match was due to start, and 2.why Town didn't make it clear that the game was in peril once the situation became clear.

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