The fall-out from Friday’s postponement of Nottingham Forest’s trip to Bournemouth continues.
The official announcement that the Championship clash was off was made at about 4pm - barely four hours before the scheduled 7.45pm kick-off - when many Reds fans were either already on the south coast or well on their way there.
However, it is understood that the English Football League were first told by the Cherries’ independent Safety Advisory Ground (SAG) on Thursday afternoon that it wasn’t advisable for the game to go ahead.
That came amid Met Office weather warnings being in place for Storm Eustice for the following day.
However, according to The Sun, the EFL felt a game could not be postponed based upon a weather forecast.
On Thursday night, there was some talk the match could be moved to Saturday - its originally scheduled date - if Friday at 7.45pm wasn’t possible.
That still looked like potentially being an option on matchday morning. Forest are understood to have been eager to get the game played over weekend, mindful of the efforts supporters had made to get there and that there is little space in the calendar to squeeze in rearranged fixtures.
“We are extremely disappointed the match will not now take place this weekend. The club tried its very best to have the match played,” they said in a statement.
Once structural damage to the stadium caused by Storm Eustice was cited by Bournemouth, however - having occurred during the day - that changed the situation.
There is said to be damage to the Main Stand roof, while some of the damage to the stands is said to be internal. Bournemouth said supporters could be put at “significant risk”.
The first recommendation that the game should be postponed is said to have been made at about 10am, but the EFL are said to have asked to see a full report from the SAG before making any announcement.
A structural engineer was called to assess the situation. As soon as the engineer’s safety report recommended a structural review of the damage to the roof, the length of time that would take effectively ruled out staging the game on Saturday.
Added to that, a cherry-picker would be required to carry out repairs and to check for further damage. It is understood Bournemouth were not prepared to put staff at risk by using that in the high winds, with more also forecast for Saturday, meaning they would still have the same problem.
Checks on the Vitality Stadium by the SAG are said to have finished at around 1.30pm, with the ground being declared unsafe - about the same time as Forest supporters’ coaches were leaving Nottingham.
It is said a recommendation was made to the EFL at that point to announce a postponement, but they wanted to see the full SAG report first.
It is understood there was a delay to the full prohibition notice being issued by the Local Authority, which came at about 4pm, because a number of other buildings in the county had also suffered damage during the storm.
The EFL said in an initial statement: “The decision to postpone AFC Bournemouth v Nottingham Forest was reached on Friday afternoon following a recommendation by the local Safety Advisory Group (SAG) after the Vitality Stadium sustained damage as a result of the developing weather conditions.
“The EFL has been informed that the impact of the storm means the issues cannot be rectified ahead of the scheduled kick-off or at a rearranged time on Saturday.
“Earlier in the day it had been communicated to the League that they had hoped the fixture would be able to take place and both clubs and Sky Sports were making their final preparations.
“We are extremely disappointed that the decision has been left so late in the day and, whilst we acknowledge safety is the number one priority, consideration in these circumstances must be given to all stakeholders in plenty of time, including the travelling supporters who have braved today’s conditions to go and support their team.”
And they went on to add in a second statement later on Friday evening: “With the EFL now in receipt of the prohibition notice issued by the local Safety Advisory Group (SAG) to AFC Bournemouth, it is clear that the extent of the structural damage to the stadium, alongside the challenging weather, means that repair work to make it safe for spectators could not be carried out today.
“Whilst our collective focus is always on getting games played, the serving of the notice, despite the best efforts of Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest, has ultimately led to tonight’s postponement.
“The League will now look to work with both clubs to re-date the fixture at the earliest opportunity.”
