Hull City announced that their Championship match against Watford had been called off 20 minutes before kick-off. The weather conditions forced authorities to postpone the match, with snow and ice making it the second division’s latest fixture to fall victim to the frigid temperatures that have hit Britain.
“While the pitch is playable, the area around the playing surface has been deemed unsafe,” the club said in a statement. “We have been constantly working on this, but the situation has not improved and as temperatures continue to drop, we cannot guarantee the safety of our players.”
Temperatures in Hull were barely above freezing and the sun was shining, but despite pitch ramps being in place to deal with the accumulated snow and ice, it was decided the match had to be called off due to safety concerns.
Hull’s pitch was deemed playable after a pitch inspection, but defrosting work was being carried out around the sides of the grass, which revealed problems.
Both teams warmed up as usual and the squads were announced an hour before kick-off, with hopes of getting the game going, but the supporters applauded as the players completed their time on the pitch, which was unusual.
Suspicions were raised, and a few minutes later Hull’s statement was released confirming that the match did not take place as expected.
This was the third match in the Championship to be called off, with Sheffield United v Oxford United and Portsmouth v Ipswich both postponed with still hours before kick-off.
Several matches in League 1 and League 2 were also cancelled.
EFL matches postponed to Sunday
Games were scheduled to start at 3 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
championship
Sheffield United v Oxford United (12:00)
portsmouth v ipswich
Hull City vs Watford
league 1
doncaster v luton
Port Vale v Barnsley
Rotherham v Mansfield
Stevenage v Leyton Orient
league 2
barnet v crew
Barrow v Bristol Rovers
Bromley v Oldham
cambridge v grimsby
Colchester v Accrington
Harrogate v Swindon
newport v tranmere
Notts County v Gillingham
salford v shrewsbury
Walsall v Fleetwood
