Referee Bobby Madden won’t face any action following the Blues’ controversial fog-bound game at Oxford almost a fortnight ago.

Blues boss Kieran McKenna and his U’s counterpart Karl Robinson called Madden over to the touchline in the 74th minute as players were struggling to see the ball in the thick fog.

After the game, McKenna said that Madden, in his first year as an EFL official after more tha 20 years working in Scotland and a decade as a FIFA referee, had told them that once the game had passed the 75-minute mark - which it would have done by the time he abandoned it - the result would remain as it stood, 1-1, rather than the match being restaged.

“Myself and Karl were both happy to play the game another day because it was going to be a lottery playing it in those last 20 minutes,” McKenna said.

“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.”

Robinson, whose side went on to win 2-1, added: “If we're being totally honest the game probably should have been called off but had it been we would have had a point.

“Once they realised that if the game was called off the result would stand and that might then not be good enough for them to get in the top two, they wanted to carry on. From my point of view it was maybe the wrong decision that ended up being the right decision.”

However, it subsequently emerged that the 75-minute rule doesn’t exist in EFL competition or more widely.

But, according to the EADT, the referees’ body, the PGMOL, has now investigated the matter and found that Madden did nothing wrong and that neither he nor any member of his team of officials made the 75-minute claim to the managers.

There were suggestions last week that Madden had been demoted to fourth official’s duties as a result of the Town match, however, there were comparatively few EFL fixtures last weekend due to the FA Cup with a number of regular referees also on touchline duty. The Carlisle-based official is down to referee the Northampton-Walsall match in League Two on Saturday.

Town are unhappy regarding the outcome but say they won’t be commenting on the matter publicly.

Photo: Action Images

Suffolkboy added 15:51 - Feb 1 There's a consistent and unfortunate ( or is it calculated ) reluctance to display honesty and integrity by the top boards of the PGMO : VAR has been as consistent in its inexplicable error strewn advice and judgement . We may just see a correction in the direction and ethics now that a new TOP man has been appointed . Fears and defensiveness inherent amongst Refereeing communities are probably based on the rotten press they've had , the abuse and intolerance occasioned some times on Match Days ,and long standing practices all much in need of courageous revision ! This set of circumstances is intolerable , does not seek out the truth but conveniently pushes the issue aside for the time being ; let's hope it's not the end of the matter and that both Clubs, both Managers and the EFL take it further ,even if that is in confidential circumstances pro tem . Somewhere ,some day ,some how this crazy incompetence and avoidance of both responsibility and accountability must be tackled ; the sooner the better ! COYB

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senduntd added 15:53 - Feb 1 Karlosfandangel. The supporters have a right to be able to see the game. We are always ignored.
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HopefulBlue69 added 16:02 - Feb 1 Maybe the official town supporters association should take their own legal action against the EFL for not conducting a thorough investigation and taking fans money on ifollow under false pretences....
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OldClactonBlue added 16:03 - Feb 1 So the farce continues
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ThaiBlue added 16:16 - Feb 1 No point getting upset with this it will change nothing regarding the result.
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ThaiBlue added 16:16 - Feb 1 No point getting upset with this it will change nothing regarding the result.
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Michael101 added 16:28 - Feb 1 Whats the betting if it had been manure v man cheatie on sky TV there would be the same outcome??
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ButchersBrokenNose added 16:33 - Feb 1 These officials are mic'd up for every game. Don't they record what they say to each other? That would end the debate about who is telling the truth. Of course, it would be the PGMOL controlling these recordings, so I imagine they would mysteriously/accidentally be deleted if there actually was an investigation.
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barrystedmunds added 16:53 - Feb 1 So surely the PGMOL will now begin proceedings against both managers for lying? “ Two men say they're Jesus, one of them must be wrong “!!!
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IpswichT62OldBoy added 17:38 - Feb 1 Both managers independently and immediately after the game made very similar statements in regard to this. Maybe back in the days of pools and pools panels it was the case that for the purpose of the pools the result stood, so a nice score draw. I doubt it though.
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atty added 17:57 - Feb 1 So the officials are saying the managers and players lied?
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carsey added 18:20 - Feb 1 It's a joke. The 2 managers telling the same story the referee denying it. On the balance of probabilities the case is proved. Surely also the ref was still mic'd up so the conversation must have been overheard by others. Another example of 3rd rate officials for the 3rd division. We need to get the f**k out of here.
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Marcus added 18:57 - Feb 1 If he's a FIFA official should have bunged him a wad and decisions would be different.
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SenatorBlue added 20:01 - Feb 1 Mike up all refs like the do in other sports, and then no one is in any doubt as to who said what.
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Radlett_blue added 20:23 - Feb 1 Well, it seems that Madden got it wrong - for which he should be disciplined - but we shouldn't moan about this too much. If we had won the game, we wouldn't be moaning at all.
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paris_mitchell_in_oz added 22:41 - Feb 1 "The EADT and Ipswich Star understands that the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Board) carried out that investigation and concluded that neither Madden nor any of the match officiating team said what has been claimed." - EADT today. So, apparently, the gaffer told a pack of lies!!!! (I don't think).
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Bluespeed added 22:57 - Feb 1 @ Craigedwards 🤣🤣
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 08:05 - Feb 2 Common sense should have led to the game already being called off earlier. It was obvious that as evening came on, the visibility would only get worse. But we can't expect to change the result now - we lost and that's it.
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Umros added 08:37 - Feb 2 I actually contacted the EFL as a paying customer to advise on the farce of continuing. I did actually receive a response, here it is for interest; Thank you for your e-mail, we appreciate you getting in touch. Ordinarily when a match is abandoned it is rescheduled and played again in full. However, in the event of an abandonment, as you allude to, EFL regulations state that it would be at the discretion of the EFL Board whether a game would be re-played or if the result would stand. Very occasionally weather changes can create very challenging and changeable conditions and the officials must deal with these as best they can at the time. The match official on the day of this particular fixture provided a full match report, which included reference to multiple discussions held with both team captains and the managers at various stages of the second half. Ultimately, if any match official feels it is no longer safe or in the best interests of the game to play on then they can take the decision to abandon the game. In this instance, the decision was taken to continue. Naturally we understand it's disappointing if anything diminishes the viewing experience for fans, and while weather-related issues such as fog are extremely rare in an average season, we recognise your frustrations in relation to his particular fixture. Thank you for contacting the EFL.

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Bluedocker added 10:15 - Feb 2 Global blue I'm sure any defence lawyer would bring up sheffield wednesday away and charlton away.. What If we won the Oxford game this post wouldn't even be on here and no moaning about it..
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