Championship match called off due to power failure, leaving fans in darkness

27 November 2024 , 20:43

512     0

Championship match called off due to power failure, leaving fans in darkness

Portsmouth welcomed Millwall to Fratton Park in the Championship on Wednesday night, but fans were left waiting in darkness after Fratton Park’s lights went out shortly before kick-off

Portsmouth’s meeting with Millwall in the Championship was postponed on Wednesday night after a power failure left fans sat in darkness for almost an hour.

Sky Sports, who were covering the game, outlined that the club were "looking into an issue" at the stadium shortly after the match’s proposed 7:45pm kick-off time.

Portsmouth released a statement just before 7:50pm, saying: "There is currently an issue with the power at Fratton Park and it is being looked into. We will update supporters in due course."

But fans were left in the dark - both figuratively and literally - for almost an hour before the clubs finally issued an update confirming the match would not take place. They wrote on X: "Tonight’s match against Millwall has been postponed for safety reasons due circumstances beyond the club’s control. We will update fans further in due course."

Millwall followed suit with a post of their own, which read: "Millwall Football Club regrets to inform supporters that tonight’s match has been postponed due to a power failure in the local area. We thank fans for their patience and support this evening. Fans in the away end will be safely escorted to the railway station once the home fans have left Fratton Park."

There had been some hope that the game would take place after some of the floodlights came back on around half an hour later, with players from both sides eventually taking to the pitch to warm up. 

But those hopes were dashed, meaning the fixture will have to be rearranged either side of the frenetic festive period.

George MacGregor