Blues boss Kieran McKenna says Town will get to the truth of the confusion surrounding referee Bobby Madden’s claim he couldn’t abandon and then restage this afternoon’s 2-1 defeat at Oxford once the game had passed the 75-minute mark.

As reported earlier, both managers were happy to abandon the match with the players struggling to see the ball in the thick fog but Madden, who has begun officiating in the EFL this season having previously refereed in Scotland for 20 years and in FIFA competitions for more than a decade, told them that if he did after 75 minutes had passed then the current scoreline, 1-1, would stand.

However, McKenna says club secretary Stuart Hayton has informed him that the EFL rulebook says nothing of the sort.

“Myself and Karl both told our concerns to the fourth official at the start of the second half, that we couldn't see the ball and it was looking like there were mistakes on the pitch on account of that. We spoke to the referee on the 74th minute spoke to the fourth official,” McKenna said in his iFollow Ipswich post-match interview.

“Between the staff and players the feeling was let's come back and fight another day in proper conditions.

“At that stage the referee said that because the 75-minute mark had passed the result would have to stand, there would have to be a draw and there would be no replay.

“In those conditions, my team, we want to win and we thought we would take our chances that we can get the winner.

“The frustration and the confusion is that our club secretary has told us that is not the rules and there is nothing in the rulebook about that.

“We will address it and get to the truth of what it was. I don't think the game should have been played in those conditions, but we can't get it back.”

Photo: TWTD

HemelBlue added 11:26 - Jan 22 If the referee knows that there is precedent under the EFL Board decisions and the result will stand he should tell the managers because that's simply the facts of the situation. Agree it is the club's legal representatives' job to know the rules of the competition, not the football manager, I'm just saying McKenna was clearly misinformed. Not his fault as not his job, but he was told the wrong thing.

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Stato added 11:26 - Jan 22 @blues1'thats completely untrue. Both managers didn't want the game called off in fact neither of them did and that's why it wasn't called off. The ref gave them the chance to call it off and they both declined. I know it's tough when the facts don't fit you narrative but a bit like flugate it's a distraction technique because we are all talking about the fog rather than why did KM think 4 forwards on the bench was the way to go.

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HemelBlue added 11:33 - Jan 22 Nobody is saying he should know the competition rules. Just pointing out he was misinformed.
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TimmyH added 11:40 - Jan 22 McK seems to be more interested in the playing conditions and the game not being abandoned rather than the consistent failings of the side to defend properly and being more clinical in front of goal...
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Stato added 13:13 - Jan 22 At no point did the ref say he wouldn't abandon the game. He merely said the result would stand. Both managers said in that case play on. They are facts not opinion. Here is another fact, Chaplin our leading goal scorer and multiple EFL award winner has been subbed more than any other player this season. Here is an opinion, perhaps if KM gave him more minutes than he has done then maybe we might have collected more points. Ladapo and Harness both also made decent goal scoring contributions but regularly hauled off for Jackson, Edwards and Aluko who have appalling goal and assist records over 2 seasons now which is another fact. Only Burgess and Fridge have been rotated from the back 8 which is another fact so here is another opinion that maybe we didn't need 7 players that can play 10 on our books with our CB cover has been Keogh. Not only same 343 every week but apart from injuries the back 8 never change in the starting line ups. Points won from losing positions is dismal and substitutions look lazy as hell when the only suspense on the 60th minute is which of the 2 number10's is getting dragged off this week. No wonder none of the front 3 are scoring the volume of goals we would all like to see. KM is all out of ideas and his skill combined with this squad currently rates us 3rd. He isn't changing tactics or approach so only solution is to give him enough money to bridge the gap between his shortfall in skills and a place in the top 2. My last opinion is that figure needs to be perhaps £5milliion

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Nobbysnuts added 13:41 - Jan 22 Somehow I don't think the Oxford manager would want the game replayed.....stop clutching at straws KM.....you got outwitted again...
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atty added 14:37 - Jan 22 All very interesting citing “case law” and “preceden”, but these are the regulations of a sporting body not common law. So rationale decidendi” should be irrelevant. A clear instruction should be encapsulated in the rules. It's not rocket science.
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Bert added 15:44 - Jan 22 @HemelBlue - I understand the issue about precedent but in this matter I cannot find a precedent which has been set. If there is then it would be an established and clear rule within the laws of the game. It may well be that the EFL take the view that the referee's decision is final and binding but if he erred in law (of the rules of the game) then there is a material matter yet to be decided upon. It may of course be very simple in that the referee did not believe the conditions warranted an abandonment and his view trumps the common view of both managers that the game should have been abandoned. If that's the case we need to know.

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BeattiesBackPocket added 16:11 - Jan 22 SouperJim well said sir 👏🏻 I don't think some watch the games and just see the result unfortunately. As much as it's not good enough at the moment as you say their goal was against run of play at that point as we had just become on top. Second half was just about getting through the conditions as neither team played that well in that.
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Cadiar added 16:19 - Jan 22 Nobbysnuts at it again, laying into KM. Theres an old adage, it takes a fool to know one & you excel at stupidity. You'd be better suited supporting Blackpool now they have Super Dino managing.
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HemelBlue added 16:27 - Jan 22 Bert - Sporting competition rules do form part of the legal contract of participation in sport so precedent applies. This is how clubs can sue via courts up to ICAS. So it is relevant in law, actually. But I was saying it's like case law, rather than saying each precedent is specifically part of common law.
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EssexTractor added 16:57 - Jan 22 Forget the fog and the arguments about 75th minute , precedents etc, match will not be replayed The match of course should not have been played but it was and the conditions were the same for both teams. Until recently ITFC being admired by all and sundry , the best team / squad in the League But is this just on paper ? Can it now be demonstrated in reality ?. Are we ruthless enough? Are we ALL realising we are in Division THREE. Possession is wonderful but that alone does not win matches But we do need more possession in dangerous position and we do need to play a bit more “ ugly” I hope that the genuinely nice manager can also be ruthless and maybe “:play dirty” to get us out of this awful awful league. The best manager we have had in years , who has genuinely argued against that until now? But not the time to do that , he is the manager , he will be the manager this season Yes of course there have been some errors The owners backing and money have done so much for us as a Division Three team The crowd have responded in their thousands Now is not the time for cursing and bickering It is a time for total togetherness Starting against Morecambe on Tuesday .

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blueboy1981 added 19:06 - Jan 22 Unprofessional ! - and yet another loss of Points. The Table looks a bit sick for us now !!
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BlueBlood90 added 09:00 - Jan 23 Absolutely irrelevant. Oxford had to play in the same conditions and we had the same opportunity to go and win the game as they did. We're so mentally weak and McKenna isn't helping to change that by blaming everyone and everything but the players these past few weeks. About time they are held to account for this poor form and that includes McKenna too.
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JewellintheTown added 09:13 - Jan 23 Home teams instinctively know the lay and subtle differences of the pitch better than the away teams, whether they can see well or not. That's one of many accepted advantages that Oxford, to their credit, took full advantage of. We wanted to call it off when we thought it suited us better. They graciously agreed. But we then find (erroneously or not) that wasn't going to give us advantage we first thought. So we then wanted to play on when we thought that suited us better. We gambled, they took advantage of their pitch knowledge and won. Gamble didn't pay off. Life lessons for the manager, staff and players on so many levels. Let's suck it up, grow up and move on instead of embarrassing ourselves.

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Robert_Garrett added 16:17 - Jan 23 Couldnt see anything in the second half on the EFL streaming that I paid ten quid for? Should have been abandoned at half time. Ref is a mountain 9of knowledge. EFL should take action and schedule a re-match under acceptable conditions. Farcical decision seen with poor humour after paying ten quid for the match pass. Should get my money back too?
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