The Great Mist ery

Absolute disbelief as SPL match is postponed.

The decision to postpone the SPL match between Dunfermline and Kilmarnock was greeted by great disbelief all round.  The Club had burned 6200 litres of diesel (at a cost of 79p per litre) to ensure that the playing surface was ready for the game but a bizarre decision by the match referee caused huge disappointment for the Club and supporters of both sides. Pars Chairman John Yorkston spoke to the website at 2.00pm and said that the postponement was totally unbelievable:-

"We are standing here at the corner flag, we can see the opposite corner flag, we can see the opposite stand. There is absolutely no reason why the game could not be played as we speak. The weather may change but it might change for the better."

The referee claimed that he had to take safety into consideration but the Chairman questioned where he was coming from:-

"The police aren't concerned about safety, what safety is he talking about? The police commander is saying that there is absolutely no reason why the game can't go on. How is it dangerous, you can see the full length of the park?

"He can call the game off if it gets worse but at two o'clock I can both ends of the park, I am standing in one corner and I can see the opposite end. We certainly intend to take this further; it is absolutely bloody ridiculous, there's no other way to describe it.

"I have not spoken to the referee other than tell him that I think it is a ridiculous decision. It doesn't help the finances, we will get something when we replay it but the bottom line is there was no reason to call this game off."

Interviewed immediately thereafter, Kilmarnock assistant Manager, Jimmy Nicholl said that he was surprised by the referee's decision:-

"I thought that they would have started it and hopefully it would have lifted. Apparently around this area once it is in, it is in and the likelihood is that it is going to get worse. That is the only explanation that I can give about it. You can see for yourself that it is quite playable but anyway these things happen.

"We were having our pre match meal when big Billy Thomson and Rossco the physio came down. Billy said that the fog had come down and that the officials were on the pitch looking of the possibility of postponement. People cannot believe it when you see the conditions and the pitch now. It is a wee bit of a surprise."

Secretary of the Killie Trust, Nigel Fitzsimmons who was at East End Park long before the referee decided that the game was off told the official website:-

"I think it was a hasty decision given the fact that most Kilmarnock fans had already started to travel to the match. There seemed to be no point in doing an inspection at 1.30, why not wait until closer to the game, fans are already travelling.

"I have rarely seen a pitch in better condition at this time of the season and the visibility is perfect. There is slight fog around but it is better now at 2.30 than it was earlier on in the day. Once again the paying customer has been inconvenienced and I think Scottish football needs to look at satisfying their customers rather than dissuading people from going to football matches on the basis of very poor decisions."

Pars players had a training session on the park instead