What is the strangest reason for a game postponement?

[Rajamaki's Ponytail]

I was talking to a Killie fan that I work with, and he told me that Killie had a game at Meadowbank called off back in the early 90s as the stadium was double booked with a cat show. Can't imagine  there being a more ridicuous reason than that.
Morton had a game at Dumbarton postpoed due to a wedding taking place in the stadium oo, I'm sure.

Think both those games were just moved to the Sunday due to prior bookings.

[Salvo Montalbano]

Probably not very usual in the grand scheme of things but there are three call offs at East End that were a bit odd. The first was a game v Kilmarnock which was postponed for fog. Not too strange really, but the decision was made at something like 11 a.m. when the fog was already clearing and by 3 p.m. it was a beautiful clear day. We've also had 2 game against the Rovers called off which were a little odd. One was a Challenge Cup game where the players were out for their warm-up when suddenly the heavens opened. It was the hardest rain I think we've ever had and in a 10-15 minute spell a large area of the park became flooded. It just seemed to come from nowhere. The other one was when the pitch was perfectly fine (think the undersoil heating had been on) and the paths etc had been cleared but Fife Police decided the roads around East End weren't safe enough. Of course it didn't effect the town centre shops, retail park or leisure park where there would have been more people bowling, watching a film at the Odeon or having dinner but somehow the same streets weren't safe enough for a few thousand football fans.

[Hedgecutter]

A few good ones in here: https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/10-footballs-weirdest-postponements-ft-pop-idol-sewers-and-a-solar-eclipse

- A solar eclipse

- Farmer's fields stinking out ground

- Travellers taking over the pitch

- Unexploded WWII bombs

... and of course, Elgin overselling 1,100 tickets.

 

Eta: Although not a postponement, I went to a Formartine vs Brora HL cup game a couple of years ago that really, really should have been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, but wasn't because it was something like the sixth time the fixture had been rearranged and both teams were in Pitmedden.  Absolute farce of a game where both Formartine's keepers hobbled off injured because of the conditions and they were forced to put outfield players in goals.  This took an absolute age though as the Formartine manager wouldn't sub the keeper off, who spent the time sitting on his goal-line with his arms out-stretched towards his dugout.  The penalty boxes became mudbaths in the first 10 mins or so and linesmen had to constantly spray on markings, especially the penalty spots for the shootout, etc etc.  If I remember correctly, there was a faff between the ref and his assistants deciding where exactly the penalty spot should actually be and one of the pens stuck in the mud.  Most entertaining high scoring game it must be said though, helped by a keeper unable to stand up.

[HoBNob]

3 hours ago, Salvo Montalbano said:

Probably not very usual in the grand scheme of things but there are three call offs at East End that were a bit odd. The first was a game v Kilmarnock which was postponed for fog. Not too strange really, but the decision was made at something like 11 a.m. when the fog was already clearing and by 3 p.m. it was a beautiful clear day. We've also had 2 game against the Rovers called off which were a little odd. One was a Challenge Cup game where the players were out for their warm-up when suddenly the heavens opened. It was the hardest rain I think we've ever had and in a 10-15 minute spell a large area of the park became flooded. It just seemed to come from nowhere. The other one was when the pitch was perfectly fine (think the undersoil heating had been on) and the paths etc had been cleared but Fife Police decided the roads around East End weren't safe enough. Of course it didn't effect the town centre shops, retail park or leisure park where there would have been more people bowling, watching a film at the Odeon or having dinner but somehow the same streets weren't safe enough for a few thousand football fans.

I think the Kilmarnock game was a bit later in the day about 12 or 1, I was in the pub when it happened, when we got to the pub we all agreed that unless the fog lifted then the game would be off, literally about two minutes before it came through on twitter that the game had been called off I looked out the window and remarked how clear it was, unbelievable that he called it off. 

[AyrshireTon]

We had a game at Palmerston passed as playable when we arrived in Dumfries at 1pm. Glorious sunny day and we headed for the pub. Game called off at 2pm due to a frozen pitch.

A clear case of asking a passer-by what they thought then the real referee arriving and calling it off. Same thing happened to us at Forfar a few years later.

[LIVIFOREVER]

Wasn't postponed but twice we had a cup game against Clyde abandoned due to fog rolling in, was each time we scored too, i was convinced Clyde had a fog machine and turned it on when we went into the lead.

Another was the floodlights went out and a game against Celtic got postponed as around 9,000 odd fans were milling about outside the ground waiting to go in.

[RedintheBed]

A Meadowbank v Brechin game had been postponed from the Saturday due to a Highland Games. I arrived at the stadium the following midweek for the rearranged game to be told it was off due to the Hammer event having left big holes in the pitch. It was considered unsafe for players.

[Mark Connolly]

We had a game against Rangers a few years ago that was abandoned at HT due to to torrential rain.

Fortunately, the Rangers fans took it well, and it was never spoken of again.

[Gaz FFC]

On 17/03/2018 at 13:04, ShaggerG said:

The  Falkirk Stadium suffers a bit in high wind sometimes with quite a lot of damage at times. I think, and I'm probably talking bollocks, that a game was postponed due to the stadium roof being unsafe following a storm. So postponed by wind albeit indirectly.

Livingston it was. I was in Newcastle laughing wi some mates about the postponements up the road and I had just finished saying "We've got a plastic pitch so the weather won't be a problem for us"

Next minute I got a text saying game off due to wind damage to the West stand

[Gaz FFC]

On 17/03/2018 at 12:55, D.A.F.C said:

Patrick had half a team out against us at home in a cup replay. Next round I'm sure was a potential tie with the old firm. This was when they groundshared with Glasgow rugby and blamed the rugby club for 'forgetting' to switch the undersoil heating on. Complete and utter farce and borderline cheating. A week later they played midweek with a full side and half the pars support there.

 

 

 

Seems that club have a history of that as they turned up to play us once and McCall was heard almost begging the ref to call the game off. They again had several players out through injury and suspension.

Falkirk were raging at the call off and played a game on the pitch anyway as a sort of protest against the decision.

 

[D.A.F.C]

McCall was the manager then also. At it imo

[DAFC.]

Calling a game off for fog in perfectly clear clear conditions has got to be up there. 

[HibeeJibee]

Quoting from p45 of the Scottish Non-League Review 2011-12:

Perhaps the two strangest reasons for postponements in many years occurred on the same day in the East of Scotland League in March. Selkirk's game was called off when the tractor rolling the pitch ran away and flattened a goalframe, while a murdered body was found in the car park at Lothian Thistle's ground.


Some other classics from the non-leagues in recent times include swine flu, boiler failures, player strikes, and council groundskeeper at Tynecastle's old venue (Fernieside Recreation Park) lining a new pitch 1yd inside the existing without overpainting it.

[theoriginalhedge]

5 hours ago, Gaz FFC said:

Seems that club have a history of that as they turned up to play us once and McCall was heard almost begging the ref to call the game off. They again had several players out through injury and suspension.

Falkirk were raging at the call off and played a game on the pitch anyway as a sort of protest against the decision.

 

Hmm !  Sounds familiar !  

[AyrshireTon]

Were any games ever called off due to the Foot and Mouth epidemic?

[Monkey Tennis]

12 hours ago, AyrshireTon said:

Were any games ever called off due to the Foot and Mouth epidemic?

Good question.

I don't think so, but there was a big impact in this part of the country.  I've kind of got something in my head about a match with Forfar being affected, but it's quite possible I've made that up.

SD will know and if he doesn't, he'll be prepared to cheat by checking.

[Stu]

14 hours ago, AyrshireTon said:

Were any games ever called off due to the Foot and Mouth epidemic?

I think the final few seasons of the South of Scotland League in 2001 were stopped and the competition never completed due to that.

There have been some great reasons for games being abandoned or postponed in the South of Scotland League (with the odd one from Dalbeattie and Threave's days in the East and Lowland). Ref being assault, ref stopping play because a (former) club official kept shouting abuse at him and wouldn't stop, pitches being double booked, the lights being on a timer and going out and not being turned back on and the game where the ref wanted shorter halves because it was going to get dark before full-time and one team refused.

[J-Bone]

Seem to recall we were due to play Clydebank in 1999 at Cappielow. It was postponed because thieves nicked the goalposts the night before!!

 

Sure the game was rearranged to be played on the day of a Scotland WC qualifier and was played at 11am I'm sure...

[Stellaboz]

Didn't Sevco get a game postponed for international call ups in League Two?

[Kevin 1919]

The queen's game away to the banjo boys on the 3rd march 2001 was postponed due to foot and mouth and it saved me from a dilemma as my daughter was born on the 1st of march