Rugby League: cancelled Rochdale Hornets and York Knights fixture to be rearranged

Rochdale Hornets

The Betfred Championship fixture between Rochdale Hornets and York City Knights, which was postponed on Sunday (March 10), will be rearranged for later in the season, the Board of the Rugby Football League has ruled.

The game was postponed on Sunday, with York claiming that they should be awarded the match because of the late postponement.

The game was cancelled due to safety concerns at the Crown Oil Arena raised by stadium ground staff. High winds meant it was dangerous to remove the protective dome and erect the rugby posts.

An unsuccessful attempt was made to erect the posts at the Sandy Lane end of the ground and as time moved on, a decision was made by the head groundsman, in conjunction with the ground safety officer that the game would need to be cancelled.

However, the board has decided a rematch will be played between the two teams later in the season 'in order to protect the integrity of the competition'.

A statement released by Rochdale Hornets said: “As a club, we extend our sincere apologies to all supporters who arrived to support their teams in what should have been an afternoon of quality rugby league, in particular the large number of York City Knights fans.

“Although the club were not made aware of the safety concerns until early afternoon, we apologise unreservedly to all supporters, particularly those who travelled significant distances for a lack of communication and our inability to convey the potential risk to the game.

“Rochdale Hornets will continue to work closely with the stadium management company to ensure we never have a repeat of Sunday and positive discussions have already begun.”

A statement released by the RFL Board says Rochdale will be responsible for meeting the duplicated costs of the York City Knights team and the RFL Match Officials, and the matter will separately be considered by the RFL Compliance Manager as potential off field misconduct for failing to have a ground that meets the laws of the game.