Surprise revelation emerges after AFC Bournemouth’s called off fixture v Nottingham Forest

According to the Sun, it was at 10am on Friday morning that the Vitality had been declared unfit to host a football game following structural damage as a result of Storm Eunice. 

However, the game which was scheduled to kick-off at 7:45pm was not postponed until 4pm that afternoon.

By that time, fans had already made the trip to Bournemouth in anticipation of the game going ahead, despite the treacherous conditions. 

The Cherries’ independent safety advisory group reportedly recommended three times that the game should not go ahead that evening. 

The SAG initially believed it was worth postponing the game on Thursday evening when the Met Office had already issued a “danger of life” weather warning for Friday.

The stadium’s roof sustained significant damage the morning of the game following the heavy winds that tormented the country.

However the EFL does not allow for postponements due to weather warnings, despite the government advising to restrict travel. 

The game was later recommended to be postponed when a structural engineer laid out the plan to repair the stadium, which required a cherry picker and machinery that could not be feasibly used under the conditions.

But the EFL insisted on a pitch inspection and it was only after that took place that they accepted the game could not go ahead. 

It was at 4pm that the announcement was made official by both clubs that the game had been postponed.

It is ludicrous that so many warnings were ignored about the conditions of the game.

It was clear that this game couldn’t go ahead well before the 4pm announcement time and fans should’ve been told about this as soon as possible.

There is plenty of free space in the calendar for this game to slot into eventually, the sport should