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7 players out injured and no EFL representative present... Nottingham Forest fans left furious as Bournemouth call off Championship clash


Fans will be no stranger to postponed matches this season as COVID-19 ripped through squads throughout the Football League over the festive period, but Bournemouth's clash with Nottingham Forest was called off just four hours before kick-off for a very different reason.

The Cherries were due to play host to Forest at the Vitality Stadium on Friday night, only for Bournemouth to postpone the game due to damage at the stadium just hours before kick off.

Structural engineers have carried out an inspection of the stadium and have confirmed that the damage could pose a significant risk to supporters’ safety.

In an official statement, the Cherries said:

'The ongoing impact of the storm means the damage cannot be repaired in time either to fulfil the fixture on Friday, or at a re-arranged time on Saturday.

'The postponement was recommended by the club’s Safety Advisory Group.'

And while that seems very regulation, a quick glance to the injury list of the Cherries raises questions. Scott Parker's side were without 8 players amid an injury crisis, and given the importance of the tie to both sides, with potential promotion on the line, dots are being connected.

The situation left Forest frustrated, not least because of the lack of governing body to adjudicate on the situation.

'There was no EFL representative inside the stadium to make an informed decision', a source told SportsMail. 'A few signs fell on the ground inside the stadium and the engineer said they were unable to get a cherry picker into the stadium until Monday.'

'Forest were willing to play the game up until 2pm on Saturday, but Bournemouth declined the offer', they added.

That was contested by some reports, which suggested that no such offer had been made.

Southend's game with Grimsby in the National League was also called off for bad weather, but an hour after the proposed re-arranged time, Southampton kicked off barely 30 miles down the road.

And the Nottingham forest fans smelled a rat.

And while it is all well and good to reschedule the game, many fans were well into their journey when the belated announcement came, following the winds of storm Eunice. For thousands, it was a Friday night ruined. especially given that they themselves had battled through the storm to make the clash.

Ben Browning

Ben Browning

Football writer and analyst. Long-time writer of all things Arsenal and avid watcher of European football. Happy to discuss all things football over on Twitter.


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