Further update emerges from AFC Bournemouth’s and Nottingham Forest’s postponed fixture

Nottingham Forest have launched a formal complaint to the EFL regarding the postponement of the Reds’ clash with Bournemouth on Friday evening, as per a report from Sky Sports News. 

The report states that the play-off chasers have outlined that the postponement suited the Cherries, who have a relatively depleted squad as things stand. 

It is believed that key figures at Nottingham Forest are furious that the game was not played the following day, with the storm passing by then. 

Bournemouth’s Safety Advisory Group suggested to the EFL on Thursday that the game should be called off, however, in accordance with EFL guidelines, matches cannot be postponed due to weather forecasts. 

The match was eventually called off on Friday afternoon, with hundreds of Forest fans already on the south coast, whilst the Forest squad were also already in Bournemouth.

The verdict 

This scenario, and a few other similar stories within the EFL, provide evidence that this EFL rule that prevents games from being called off needs to be addressed.

Yes, fan safety is the ultimate priority, and if a stadium is damaged, then postponing the fixture is the right call, however, if advised to call the fixture off prior to the fans travelling down, then that action should be taken. 

It will be interesting to see what the end result of Forest’s formal complaint might be, especially with other EFL games suffering a similar fate at the weekend. 

With the Reds in great form and chasing down promotion to the Premier League, this was viewed as another excellent opportunity for Steve Cooper’s men to make even more progress. 

Source