Brechin City intend to make a formal complaint to the Scottish FA following the late postponement of Saturday’s Breedon Highland League fixture against Keith.
More than 130 Brechin fans had made the journey to Kynoch Park for the fixture as Brechin looked to regain top spot after dropping to second following Banks o’ Dee’s 3-2 win against Turriff United on Friday night.
But the game was called off following a 2.15pm pitch inspection, despite both clubs agreeing to delay kick-off until 4.300pm in a bid to get the match played.
Brechin chairman Kevin Mackie said the decision to postpone the match was “one of the most baffling” he had ever seen.
In a club statement, he said: “On behalf of Brechin City FC and Andy Troup (Keith FC chairman), I would like to apologise to everyone who was looking forward to a game of football at Kynoch Park yesterday.
“For reasons outwith our control, the referee decided that the game should be postponed. This is one of the most baffling decisions I have ever seen.
“Both clubs had agreed that we could delay the kick off to 4.30pm if required to allow for sand to be put down to cover the small area that was giving the referee concern.
“The weather was perfect with clear blue skies and no rain forecast for the remainder of the day.
Statement from Chairman Kevin Mackie: pic.twitter.com/oRMCxnxaR8
— Brechin City FC (@BrechinCityFC) March 3, 2024
“I would like to highlight that both sets of management and players along with myself and Andy wanted to play the game.
“Far too often I hear the word ‘players safety’ yet we never see a game cancelled in summer when pitches can be rock hard because of a lack of rain.
“We had over 130 people who had made their way to Keith yesterday and I can only apologise for the lack of common sense that resulted in the game being postponed at 2.15pm.
“The club will be making a formal complaint to Crawford Allan, head of refereeing operations at the SFA.
“Our fans continue to turn out in huge numbers and it is disappointing to see so many feel let down by a nonsensical decision.”
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