Boss Paul Jewell felt that referee Dean Whitestone made the right decision to abandon Town’s game against Middlesbrough with conditions becoming dangerous, Blues skipper Ibrahima Sonko having suffered a cracked rib. The Town manager felt the pitch was playable at the start but got worse as the 37 minutes progressed.

Jewell said: “You’ve all got to play in bad conditions but when they become dangerous, as they were out there, to be honest, it becomes a bit of a farce.

“I fully understand supporters’ frustrations but as a football match it was becoming more and more of a lottery as every minute went on.

“Sonko’s cracked a rib there. If the pitch hadn’t been in that condition that probably wouldn’t have happened.

“We were playing well, no doubt about it, we were the better side. We adapted to the conditions well but the last thing you want to do is get any more injuries or lose a game due to the conditions of the pitch.”

Asked whether the referee was wrong to start the game in the first place the Liverpudlian said the surface had been fine earlier in the day: “It was a difficult one because we were here at 10 o’clock this morning and we had the balloon on the pitch, it was perfect, there wasn’t a problem with it.

“But when they took that off at about 1 o’clock, or 1.30, the weather gets into it. When I went out on to it was OK, a bit crusty, but it really was getting a bit tough, the linesman was running the line three yards on to the pitch.

“It was a right anti-climax and I feel really sorry for the supporters both of Ipswich and Middlesbrough, who had come an awful long way, but one of our players has been injured and I think that’s down to the conditions and I didn’t need any more of that.”

Jewell says Sonko’s injury played some part in the abandonment: “I think that probably came into the thinking because they’re in contact and the fourth official had relayed to him that he’d heard our physio say that he thought Sonko had cracked a rib due to his fall, which will have to be confirmed.

“A lot of the pitch was fine, that’s the frustrating thing about it, but you saw Emmanuel-Thomas slip over into the hoardings in the first couple of minutes. It’s really horrible way to end a Saturday afternoon.

“From mine and Tony Mowbray’s perspective we both wanted to see a decent football match. We were playing quite well and we were the better team.”

Earlier in the day he felt there was little question that the game would go ahead: “Me and Tony were here at 10 o’clock this morning and I didn’t think it was in doubt.

“I got a phone call to say there was a pitch inspection at 11.15 and the referee was coming to look at the pitch but it was lovely and warm under there, it was fine. As the afternoon has gone on, you could feel how cold it’s got and it’s become unplayable.

“At 10’o clock it was fine. There was only one concern, the far side, not the side we were on but the far side.

“But we got the heaters on that and that wasn’t a problem. The problem was this side, by the dugouts, where there’s a six or seven-yard strip down the pitch. I think Tony was happy at 10’o clock, I think they were less happy when it started.”

He admits that if his side had been in front when the decision was taken he might have been less pleased: “If you look back to the Leicester game last year, if it had been 0-0 at half-time, the game would have been abandoned.

“If we had scored, it would have been hard to convince me to call it off and the other way around. The referee is in an impossible position really.

“We wanted to carry on, but we don’t want to carry on and get beaten by the pitch or get another injury because of it. I know it’s horrible for the supporters and everyone connected with football but I think probably the right decision was made.

“I feel flat, I’m usually ranting and raving at this time, so it’s quite nice to be calm. We’re disappointed. We’ll be in tomorrow because we’ve got a game on Tuesday.”

Jewell says he expects Sonko to miss Tuesday’s game at Portsmouth and confirmed that he is looking for loan cover at centre-half: “It’s looking that way. We don’t know definitely but that’s what the physio’s thinks he’s done so he’ll be away to the hospital to get an x-ray.

“We were looking to bring people in anyway but that really leaves us stretched at the back anyway.”

Photo: Action Images

CornardBlue added 18:48 - Feb 11 Have just seen Sonko incident on TV, no way was that down to the conditions, Boro wanted this game to be called off, they knew they would get beat as we far the better team. Agree with others ITFC should demand this game is replayed on 5th round cup day so all supporters who bought tickets can attend, but knowing Clegg he will arrange a mid-week game to piss everyone off. Clegg should also contact FA to get that joke of a Ref banned for life.

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blues1 added 18:58 - Feb 11 i, like every1 was very frustrated at the decision to abandon the match when it certainly appeared the conditions were no worse than at the start. in hindsight certainly i feel its clear the game should never have started. as a referee myself at local level i can tell you that a referees main consideration in playing/postponing or abandoning a match is player safety. so garv, your ridiculous comment about the rest of the pitch being fine is beyond belief. if a player is running at full pelt on a perfectly fine part of the pitch then enters the 6-7 yard area of the pitch that is affected he could easily slip & break his leg or cause some other serious injury. that is why it doesnt matter if the whole pitch is dangereous or 1 small area. so think before you make yet another of your daft comments on here. as for those of you slating clegg again. listen to what he said properly. hes clearly stated 1st of all what the actual regulations are but then said theyll look into it to see what they can do. but what we must remember is that while it may be unfair to expect fans to pay out again fir the rematch, itfc do have costs to cover. they will have to pay stewards again, policing costs again, & reprint programmes, so they may find it difficult to not charge anything at all. but lets wait to see what they come up with before slating them

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CornardBlue added 19:03 - Feb 11 For Gods sake Paul 3 points there for the taking and you agree with the Ref, you might regret this at the end of season.
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RAH4 added 19:05 - Feb 11 Just got back....a 300 mile trip wasted due to total incompetence by club and officials. OK the weathers bad, but that is not unique to Ipswich it is country wide. One damming statistic...ours was the only game abandoned ....loads postponed..but only one abandoned. We were the only club in the country who could not manage the situation. Also heard Cleggs interview on Radio Suffolk on the way back . Absolutely pathetic. He should get his paintbrush out,get his finger out and just get out. The 50 % offer shows a bureacracy rather than leadership. Why was the game not called off at 11.15 the pitch was not fit then, and those in the decision making process should have known it would only get colder. Shambles and for fans a very expensive one.

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PSGBlue added 19:26 - Feb 11 RAH4 - I know how you feel, round trip from Sleaford. Very fustrating, its about time we got undersoil heating. Even at 1.5 million or whatever it will be worth it. The balloon is a farce as it is hit or miss what part of the pitch it protects. It also only protects the very top surface of the pitch, so any dip in temperature and we get a situation like today where it quickly re-freezes. Undersoil heating must penertrate a few cms down, so even if temperature starts to fall it lasts for the whole game. Come on Clegg sign some undersoil heating up on a long term contract!

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bluerealist added 20:01 - Feb 11 Pushing each manager's motives aside for the game being abandoned, the long and short of it is this: 1. Between 3pm and 3.37pm the weather did not deteriorate, the temperature did not and hence, the pith was no worse when the game was abandoned than it was at kick - off - FACT! 2. Sonko would have sustained the same injury falling on a hard pitch during July pre-season trainning - FACT! 3. Worst of all - Clegg is a spineless waste of space! On Radio Suffolk, all he could offer was a pathetic 'we'll look at it and see' pile of drivel regarding refunds / discounts. As Ipswich supporters we've had to suffer dire results, woeful management and player performances and utter embarassment at the hands of our fiercest rivals, the now mighty Norwich City! Forget the minimum requirements, prove to us you value our support and honour all tickets for the re-match!!! We are coming up to season ticket renewal time and as far as I'm concerned, Why should I commit to a club that cannot commit to it's fans??? The club had to bribe fans with discounts to get the numbers in today - perhaps Clegg should wake up to the fact that the supporters are the clubs customers! Finally, did anybody else notice how quickly the shutters came down on the catering kisoks when the game was abandonded!!! 20,000 people turfed out at short notice and no chance of getting what would have been a half time cuppa or pie to warm us up on the way!! CLEGG YOU ARE A DISGRACE - GET OUT OF OUR CLUB AND TAKE THE EVANS BLOKE (Whoever he is??) WITH YOU!!!

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gilo1973 added 20:05 - Feb 11 ConardBlue - it is the Football League that determines when the match is replayed not CLegg. As for undersoil heating this is not financially viable - we are a club £70m in debt so to spend a vast sum of money on this to save 1 game every 3-4 years doesn't make sense
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1878 added 20:19 - Feb 11 Was just to watch some egg catching (6 Nations) and it seems the same ref made the decision to stop the game. But this time just before it was to start. You'd think that -10C must have given a bit of a clue to start with. Noticed at the begining of the programme they had 'hairdryers' and a bubble too! Is it just me, but it has been FN freezing ALL week and just because it is a Saturday people seem to think that it's all okay. Who the bloody hell thought that blowing hot air would work - yes it might keep the surface warm but once you take everything off it starts to get cold again. I'm a season ticket holder and when I read that ticket holders will still have to pay another 50% when the game goes ahead next time, just makes me mad and it made me realise that the club just does not care anymore about fans - just money, money, money!!! Anyone with a brain cell and been in Ipswich all week would have realised that there wasn't a hells chance of the pitch being okay and the game should have never started.

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Keaneish added 20:21 - Feb 11 Completely agree Garv. All if it's a joke. Have you ever heard if a game being called off midway through because a linesman, who's not even in the field if play is worried about losing his footing!!!? Pathetic!! Mowbray must have been biting the refs hand off at the opportunity to get the game abandoned given how poor they were! And Jewell agrees!? We're in a relegation dogfight and that was an easy 3 points today thrown away! Barry Robson will be back for the rearranged game and it'll be a different ball game then!! As for Sonkos injury being worse because the ground was hard!? It's terra ferma, I'd course it's going to hurt when you land in it in that fashion whether harder than normal or not. Ridiculous comment! Complete farce today on every level apart from the infield performance which was really good to watch. ITFC to give me the cash back or another ticket and the FA to refund my train ticket!

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Tractastic added 20:28 - Feb 11 Pitiful decisions once again from the ITFC management. Nothing amazes me at ITFC anymore. Any doubts and the game should have been called off last night and at the latest this morning.With temperatures of minus 16 forecast and then actually recorded last night in Ipswich and temperatures predicted to go no higher than 0 today what on earth were the management thinking of letting this game go ahead? But then having started the game should have continued.As others have already said the pitch didn't massively deteriorate in the 37 mins played and Sonko would possibly have sustained his injury equally on a firm pitch. You have to feel for the away fans whose time has been totally wasted and lets face it town fans also come from all over the region and beyond. This should have been a great day for town fans.A large enthusiastic crowd helped by a welcome reduction in entrance fee's and a team with some real momentum with a real chance of three wins in a row. Instead we have been let down again. Someone needs to grow a pair at PR and show some strong management from the boardroom down to convince the fans that they have really do have the fans and ITFC at heart.

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Tractastic added 20:28 - Feb 11 Pitiful decisions once again from the ITFC management. Nothing amazes me at ITFC anymore. Any doubts and the game should have been called off last night and at the latest this morning.With temperatures of minus 16 forecast and then actually recorded last night in Ipswich and temperatures predicted to go no higher than 0 today what on earth were the management thinking of letting this game go ahead? But then having started the game should have continued.As others have already said the pitch didn't massively deteriorate in the 37 mins played and Sonko would possibly have sustained his injury equally on a firm pitch. You have to feel for the away fans whose time has been totally wasted and lets face it town fans also come from all over the region and beyond. This should have been a great day for town fans.A large enthusiastic crowd helped by a welcome reduction in entrance fee's and a team with some real momentum with a real chance of three wins in a row. Instead we have been let down again. Someone needs to grow a pair at PR and show some strong management from the boardroom down to convince the fans that they have really do have the fans and ITFC at heart.

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dirtyboy added 20:52 - Feb 11 Fed up with the comments by the thoughtless idiots blaming Clegg and Jewell. The Ref was the one who made the decision, lots of us drove long distances, but it's just one of those things, no-ones fault at the club. The club still had to organise all the staff, pay the players their appearances, and myriad costs of a match day. Any concession is a good gesture in my opinion. We're all disappointed, but life's like that at times. People expect things in these times of 'compensation culture' get on with it. Calling it ridiculous that we don't have under soil heating? I can't remember another call off due to pitch conditions in my 20+ years going. Who really wants the club to invest such a large sum into something that would only be required once a decade at best? The club is a business, nice to think it exists for our entertainment only, reality is there are books to be balanced. Finally, looked like a good performance today, impressed with Chopra and Martin up top, loads of energy, Drury impressing more every time I see him too.

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Blue041273 added 20:58 - Feb 11 As someone who makes a 500 mile round trip to home games I have to be philosophical about situations like these. Sure having started my journey at 05:30 this morning I wanted the game to be played but I didn't want to witness a farce either. All I would say is that having followed the weather forecasts over the last few days I was always doubtful that the game would even start. With temperatures forecast of -8 overnight there was always going to be a doubt. While the efforts of the ground staff to get the game played are commendable and the flexibility of the referee during the pitch inspections is also to be admired, would anybody have really complained if the match had been called off on Friday? After all Crystal Palace postponed theirs on Friday and conditions in their part of London were no worse than in East Anglia. Given that we have no under soil heating, what was it that made struggling against all the odds so necessary? Now everyone is unhappy and judging by the comments on here the club will inevitably carry the can (unfairly in my view).

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KenDubZ added 21:41 - Feb 11 Omg you lot do you not read past the headline? Your retards sort your life out we were all over them! And he said lecieter match would have been called off but we were wining so shut up you melts!!
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poggie added 22:07 - Feb 11 All I know is that when i set off from my home in Essex, after several wasted moments of uncertainly as i waited for the results of the (pointless) pitch inspection, i was under the impression that it was all ok. And that the game was fine to go ahead. Yet somehow between 11.40 and 3.37 the weather (despite the bright sunshine and not too inclement temperature) had deteriorated to such a point that playing football on the pitch at Portman Road was impossible. Hmmm ... How did this happen? It certainly wasn't snowing! Surely the powers that be have access to a weather forecast? I thought they would even have had access to the pitch prior to kick off ... maybe they could've asked the players if it was playable? I feel so sorry for anyone who has travelled a long distance ... particularly from Middlesborough ... surely we could have let them know last night? Or at least early this morning? Another sad example, if one were needed, that us fans don't really matter that much to our clubs!! Although I'm a season ticket holder, due to personal circumstances (i'm a single mother) i dont get to every game. This makes every match i do manage see a bonus ... but this one was a total waste of my valuable time!!! I'm still angry!! Grrrr!! Should've been handled much better ...

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itfchorry added 22:39 - Feb 11 Clegg Out
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leicstractor added 23:00 - Feb 11 absolutely gutted cant afford to go many games petrol etc got a ticket for me and my son as was reduced price left leicester at 10.30 praying for game to be on YES its on found out on way to ipswich got in ground looking forward to match then that happened who is to blame the ******* ref should have called it off so we had our day out ruined by an overpaid ***** a long journey back home got in at 7.30pm and used £60 in petrol and if we want to go again we have to buy another ticket 50% and another £60 petrol im a working class family man please clegg either give me a refund or free admisson to the re-arranged game or even better take it off the ref i love the town but clegg is a bad egg for our club leicstractor

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runaround added 00:51 - Feb 12 Having just seen the highlights on football league show I cant see quite how the Sonko's injury can be used as a reason for the abandonment as he didn't slip or fall on the floor but it the way he cleared the ball that seemed to injure him
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Benters added 07:35 - Feb 12 Well i think it was the wrong choice to start in the first place if the ref wasnt sure at 11-15 he then had another look at 2 ? Some people travelled along way for this i feel sorry for the boro supporters
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MathieandMarshall added 09:52 - Feb 12 I can understand the frustration but the anger from some supporters towards the club baffles me?! The ref made the call, not Clegg, or PJ or ME! This was a completely different game to Leic which was played on soft snow. If the game had continued and we'd conceded a goal in the 89th minute after a defender slipped on the pitch everyone would be ranting that it should have been called off! These things happen. Chill out and either go to the next one... Or don't. Your choice!

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tearle1974 added 10:03 - Feb 12 First of all i feel for all of the fans who travelled to the game, Reading that some travelled far and some who took advantage of the discount tickets as they don't come along to many games. Over Europe the weather has been at it's worst for decades, In Holland and in Italy games have been played in sub zero tempratures and some games have been postponed too. The ground staff worked hard and worked wonders to get the game to go ahead. With the resources that they have they should be rewarded. However the referee just kicked them in the teeth. I am a steward in the Bobby Robson stand and before i set off like everyone i contacted the club to see if it was going ahead. However the inspection that would only take 15 mins took 25, Sounds like the ref was unsure then?? Like you all i set off on the cold day and arrived to find out another inspection at 2PM and at that time the ground was still empty. Unusual at this point so the officials comfirmed the game to go ahead. So you all arrive in freezing tempratures and the game starts and town are playing well. Now at 1535 the referee speaks to the managers after the Sonko injury, I knew at this time it's abandoned and then it's comfirmed over the PA. The fans in disgust are unhappy and frustrated and yes i do feel the same but at this point some of the fans were taking it out on us stewards. It was not our fault and we did not deserve the abuse that some of us were getting. After reading all these comments of Clegg out and the club don't care about the fan, We do care it's just the FA regulations with the tickets. It's been there policy for years and i am sure the club will try and accomodate everyone. After going to football for 27 years i am proud to be part of the club that i have supported as a boy. Yes recently it has not been good but things will change. The team is working hard it's just boardroom decisions frustrate us all. I feel like every one of you and the game should have been called off in the morning. If the ref was unsure then call the game off to be safe. In my opinion the ref made the wrong decisions and not the club and i hope every true fan would see this????

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brittaniaman added 10:06 - Feb 12 I do not know where Mowbray got his measurments from ????? linesman 5 yds. on pitch ?? more like 5 ft. and that was generous !!!!!
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Dozzells_Bobblehat added 10:17 - Feb 12 Gilesy and mathieandmarshall - totally agree, very frustrating as i think this was a good time to play Boro but is it not just possible that it was an unfortunate set of circumstances, why do some of you always have to blame someone for everything. S*** happens. At one o clock the pitch was fine and all parties for obvious reasons wanted to give it a go. At that stage Boro fans would have been almost there anyway, and then in the next two and a half hours the weather has gotten into the pitch and that side gets no sun. It is disappointing but i suspect that most of you on here moaning would have been doing the same if the game had continued and one of our players sustained a serious injury.

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walberswick added 10:43 - Feb 12 Will PJ get a loan centre back as cover, or will he have to use Murphy as a stand in? Full refund or ticket for replay for everyone at PR is the right thing to do, Clegg. What does the small print say if less than 30 min has been played? Was it fixed with the ref and club?
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Dozzells_Bobblehat added 10:55 - Feb 12 Yes walberswick it was all a conspiracy. PJ ,Clegg and the ref planned it all, oh and PJ stole Shergar and shot Kennedy.
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