Cardiff City say they are "extremely disappointed" at the EFL's decision to replay their abandoned game with Rotherham United in full.
The EFL confirmed the move in a short statement on Thursday, after nearly two weeks of deliberation in which they reviewed evidence from both clubs.
Cardiff were winning 1-0 when the decision was taken to abandon the game shortly after half-time, amid a huge torrential downpour of rain. Cardiff are understood to have expressed their unhappiness at the hosts' efforts to get the game restarted on the day, and had subsequently made the case for the fixture to be restarted from the 48th minute at a later date.
But they will now have to go through it all again from the start.
Cardiff will now travel to the New York Stadium on April 25 for the re-arranged fixture, with the club confirming that Bluebirds owner Vincent Tan will cover the travel costs for those who attended the original game and are now intending on travelling back to South Yorkshire.
In a statement, Cardiff said: "We are extremely disappointed that this fixture will now be re-scheduled and replayed in its entirety, a decision which disregards the first half of the original fixture, which was unaffected by any weather conditions.
"Despite submitting a detailed incident report to the EFL, which contained photo and video content that documented the events that took place at the AESSEAL New York Stadium on March 18th, we are aggrieved that the points we have raised have been dismissed.
"We are particularly frustrated that our staff, players and supporters who travelled to South Yorkshire must now make the long journey once again, during a time of heightened personal costs and fixture congestion.
"We would like to thank our loyal supporters for travelling in their numbers to the AESSEAL New York Stadium, and look forward to seeing them at the re-arranged fixture which will now be played on Tuesday, April 25th (7.45pm kick-off).
"Further ticketing information on this will follow in due course. In acknowledgment of the additional travel expectations put upon supporters, Tan Sri Vincent Tan has taken the decision to cover the journey cost for those who attended the original fixture and are again travelling with official and club recognised travel providers."
Confiming the decision to replay the fixture in full, the EFL said: “Following the abandonment of the Sky Bet Championship fixture between Rotherham United and Cardiff City on Saturday 18 March due to a waterlogged pitch, it has been determined that the fixture will now be re-scheduled in full.
"In respect of this particular fixture, the matter was referred to the EFL Board under EFL Regulations at the request of the Clubs involved.
"The EFL Board reviewed submissions from both Clubs giving consideration to factors including the time of the abandonment (48th minute) and the subsequent time remaining in the contest, alongside the differing circumstances at play had the fixture been re-started from that point on a re-arranged date.
"In considering matters such as these, the League seeks to adopt consistency with previous occurrences where fixtures have been abandoned for weather-related reasons and could not be re-started.”
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