Portsmouth CEO Andrew Cullen explains the decision to postpone the Millwall game; while manager Neil Harris ‘feels sorry for fans’.
The Championship fixture was called off because of a power failure at Fratton Park on Wednesday night, with floodlights going out just before kick of.
It was then called off around an hour after the scheduled 7:45pm kick off time. It continues the run of bad luck for Pompey, having seen their previous game against Blackburn on Saturday also postponed because of a waterlogged pitch, meaning they have still not played a match since before the international break, on the 9th of November.
It means John Mousinho’s side fall to the bottom of the table after QPR won at Cardiff, but Pompey now have two games in hand on the sides above them.
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Pompey said: “Pompey’s home match against Millwall at Fratton Park has been postponed.
“This is due to safety reasons beyond the club’s control after a power issue affected lighting inside the stadium.
“Tickets will remain valid for the new date. The club will confirm details for fans who instead wish to claim a refund in due course.”
Portsmouth CEO Andrew Cullen said to BBC Radio Solent that they had to call the game off “in the interests of everyone’s safety”.
“We got to a point where the floodlights were back on but there was still an issue with non-emergency lighting and CCTV so we had a decision to make in terms of crowd safety,” he said.
“There’s more to this than just 22 players on the football pitch. We had a capacity crowd here tonight and we did not have confidence that we could get through a whole game with some lighting not working in the stands.
“Then we got to 8:30 and then we had a further problem which was the last trains going back to London for the Millwall supporters, and they would not have been able to get those back so a decision had to be made.
“I’m incredibly disappointed and I’m upset that we had to call the game off but it was the only logical decision at that time to do in the interests of everyone’s safety.”
To the media Cullen added: “It’s really disappointing and frustrating for the players, officials, coaches and, most importantly, the supporters.
“We had a capacity crowd and they wanted to see a good game of football, but we’ve not been able to deliver that.
“We lost power just 10 minutes before kick-off throughout the whole stadium, including the floodlights, the stands and CCTV in the control room.
“The only place we didn’t lose power was in the North Stand and the Fanzone, which is served by a different circuit.
“We worked hard to identify the source of the problem and eventually we traced it back to the substation that serves Fratton Park.
“We have no access into there and, at the moment, can only speculate what caused the trip in that area. That will be part of the investigation.
“We recovered the floodlights just after 8pm and were able to get a lot of lighting back in the stands, but it was intermittent.
“I have to thank the match officials who gave us the space, the time and the opportunity to try to get the game on.
“Another consideration we had was the fact that if we kicked-off around 8.45pm then we wouldn’t finish until around 10.45pm and the trains wouldn’t be available, which would leave Millwall and some of our own supporters stranded.
“So we had to make the difficult decision to call the game off – and it was one that wasn’t taken lightly.
“Whenever you have a major incident at a football stadium, you look at the areas where you can do better.
“Losing power was something we had no control over and we’re upset after also losing the game at Blackburn on Saturday because of the weather.
“But the most important thing for any club is to ensure that its supporters can arrive, watch the game and get home again safely.
“With a capacity crowd, we had no confidence that the emergency power would last until the final whistle.
“You also take the guidance of the outside agencies who support us and we had to make the tough decision to call the game off.
“I’m incredibly sorry that those who have travelled here have not been able to watch a game, but hope they understand that it’s something we had no control over.”
CEO Andrew Cullen on tonight’s postponement.#Pompey pic.twitter.com/ofe9QHUQe0
— Portsmouth FC (@Pompey) November 27, 2024
👏 Thank you #Millwall fans!
🔜 We will see you Saturday where we know you’ll be just as loud… pic.twitter.com/cq731pPgcF
— Millwall FC (@MillwallFC) November 28, 2024
💙 Neil Harris thanks #Millwall fans for their support following tonight’s postponement. pic.twitter.com/NcGW2AGpRM
— Millwall FC (@MillwallFC) November 27, 2024
Millwall boss Neil Harris said, per Southwark News: “Preparation goes in from Saturday at five o’clock after the draw against Sunderland.
“The thought process straight away goes to Portsmouth on Wednesday evening. So preparation for the staff, a lot of work behind the scenes, but then also for the players as well.
“Then for the fans to travel here. Everyone comes to a game of football for the right reasons, to watch their team play, then it gets stolen away from you because of something out of everyone’s control.
“So frustration for everybody involved in the football match, but probably more than anybody, the supporters I feel for.
“Our fans have travelled in their numbers to come tonight and, yes, they’ll be able to use their tickets at the next game I’m sure, but they don’t get a refund in their travel. I feel for them. So I just hope they all get home safely.”
“I’ve got to say, the football club were fantastic here with us internally. There was no power in the changing room area, so everyone was sitting in darkness.
“The match official Dean Whitestone in particular was outstanding. He was desperate to play. Me and John [Mousinho] were very, very, very keen to get the game on because they didn’t have a game at the weekend, and we were in a great run of form.
“So both managers and the match officials were desperate for the game. But health and safety come first. We understand that, fan safety is paramount in this.
“We got as much knowledge coming through as possible, until they got to a stage where security and the police had to take the matter out of everyone’s hands and, and made the decision for what’s in the best interest of the fans.”
“Once we were back out on the pitch warming up, because the floodlights came on, we were hopeful that was going to be it.
“The referee gave us an inkling that there was going to be a kick-off time, so we needed to get going again.
“So we were preparing for that, but then external information came through that it’s a power grid issue and it’s not quite as straightforward as the floodlights not working.
“I’ve learned things tonight about power grids and electricity that I never knew. So my knowledge has grown whether I’ll ever use it again, I hope not, but it has grown.
“The workings behind the scene, the Portsmouth head of security, she was fantastic and the tough decisions they have to make and I was privy to all of that as much. I’m frustrated, but I do understand.”
“2000 Millwall fans have travelled and they’re hugely respectful. We’re in a really good place at the moment. They came to watch their team because we just keep outperforming expectations.
“The 2000 fans Portsmouth fans that travelled to Blackburn didn’t get a game; they were probably here tonight. So they’ve had double frustration as well. So frustration for a lot of people.
“But I hope everyone can try and understand health and safety comes first, and thank you to the fans for making the effort.”
Millwall’s game against Sunderland last Sunday was also delayed after some fans suffered medical emergencies near the end of the first half.
“We got through the game at the weekend. It was a bizarre circumstance to have two medical emergencies in one game.
“But everyone came through healthy in the end and the right decisions were made and we got really good outcome from the game coming from behind late on.
“And then tonight, it is out of our control, you know, we can’t control it. I’m absolutely fine with things I can’t control. So as long as the players come through the training session on the pitch tonight and they’re okay, we’ll move onto Saturday and we’ll look forward to it.”
Twitter users reacted as Portsmouth CEO explains the decision to postpone the Millwall game; while Neil Harris ‘feels sorry for fans’…
@bericszn: Many potential outcomes to tonight but I did not expect our CEO doing a managerial style post game analysis on an abandonment due to power failure
@BL10CBL: No One Lights Us
@archiemcgreal: Explains the situation well tbf, and if the lights that came back on we’re only temporary ‘emergency light’ I get the decision as frustrating as it is. The communication should have been a lot better and decision could’ve and should’ve been made sooner #pompey
@LukeDyks: Terrible lack of communication from the club tonight. Absolutely dire. Sort it out please.
@AndyCol34716605: We ripped Blackburn apart for something beyond their control, the weather. We will get destroyed for this. Poor communication. Embarrassing.
@JoshBoswell: Shambles of a club. Would never happen at Rovers.
@Willmott3Sam: At the end of the day, the main concern is safety, and it the power were to be in and out, that would have caused hell of a lot of issues. Maybe having someone from the substation company to be at every match day could be a thing, so access to the substation is there when needed
@bericszn: Many potential outcomes to tonight but I did not expect our CEO doing a managerial style post game analysis on an abandonment due to power failure
@swannybegood: I’m going to call it being the tannoy system. Cuts in and out all the time. Never seems right. Cut out when it was on full whack.
@gpenny_22: Good interview tbf 👏🏻 still think he should’ve addressed the situation to the fans directly from the pitch though and decision should’ve been made much sooner 🤷♂️
@Herringgull222: It’s not the end of the world as it will be rearranged for another night, plus safety comes first! Our game was postponed tonight too (Gosport us Bracknell) due to two of our floodlights not working at the back end of the stadium… so we’re in the same boat as you are tonight 👍
@LukeEllisPUP: What a shambles last night at #pompey – there was no reason to call that game off. If trains had been cancelled the game would’ve gone ahead, if it was a cup game and went to ET the game would’ve got ahead, if the security lights went out during match the game would’ve continued. It didn’t get darker than the time fans left, everyone could see leaving. There were street lights on, there was no safety issue leaving #pompey – Sky certainly couldn’t broadcast the game, that’s the only issue I saw from last night
Tell me why this isn’t playable – photo taken at 8.27pm last night #pompey pic.twitter.com/3LwKBBR9PG
— Luke Ellis (@LukeEllisPUP) November 28, 2024
Be interesting to know if there was any risks raised before tonight’s game? pic.twitter.com/bzz1YVHqA7
— Lee Mason (@LeeMasonPFC) November 27, 2024
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