Should Footballers Play in Snow?

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With 7 of this weekend's Premier League games already called off, ahead of Manchester City playing Everton on Monday night, to what extent should footballers have to play in adverse weather conditions?

I was at Blackburn Rovers for half past 9 this morning and by the time I set foot in the Stadium, Wigan v Aston Villa had already been called off.











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Now, for me, there is no excuse for cancelling a football match if a stadium has under-soil heating. On that front, only Blackpool (who were set to face Spurs) should not be playing this weekend.

The stadium at Ewood Park was cleared at 10am this morning, there were heaters on the pitch, the under-soil heating was on and the ground staff had been there since 5.30am.



The snow was not to stop Ewood assistant Steve Kean taking charge of his first goal at Ewood Park.




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So, what is the excuse?

Heavy snow fall in London has been the excuse given for the downfall of most of the Premier League games, although we have had over 4 inches in Blackburn and the commitment of the ground staff ensured the game was played.

The situation at Sunderland was the same, where they readied the pitch for a 12.45 kick off, despite a lack of visible snow.

Credit to the ground staff and anyone who helped out nonetheless.

Then, you consider that the likes of Chelsea v Manchester United has been called off tomorrow. I'm not one to say what the conditions are like near Stamford Bridge but surely there should be commitment to keep arguably the biggest game of the season on?




The Chelsea players have been wearing gloves to guard against the cold, but their game against Manchester United was still called off.




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And I see little excuse for West Brom v Wolves being cancelled, given they are local rivals. Surely the necessary stances could have been made, especially when the game was nearly 24 hours away when it was given the red light.

The away fans today deserve their credit, unlike most of their money making idols who failed to entertain them by even taking to the pitch. Match of the Day won't be the same tonight.

It might not have been pretty football on our screens today, but it was football and the pitches were clear, unlike the game between Ipswich and Leicester City, which went ahead, despite a covering of snow on the surface.

I do believe that footballers, given their pay, should play whatever the surface, unless it is dangerous for fans to get in to the stadium.

Necessary measures should be taken and it's not acceptable for 7 out of ten Premier League games, including the whole of the Sunday schedule, to be called off within 8 hours of each other.



It will all add to fixture congestion after Christmas and, if sides like Manchester United, whose game against Blackpool was called off a fortnight ago, continue to miss games and progress in the Champions League, the situation may get ridiculous with the fixtures.

Something has to be done.

Would we accept calls for a winter break in what has been regarded as the best league in the world?

It would certainly lose respect to the likes of La Liga which can guarantee weekly football, but maybe it would benefit the matches, the league, and perhaps even the footballers.

Over the years, Fabio Capello, Martin O'Neill and Sven Goran Eriksson have all suggested that the winter break would benefit the game, and the system already operates in several countries, but not in the likes of Spain, France or Italy, three of the better footballing leagues.

Not only that, but in an article, leading physios have advised that a winter break would help the players, particularly international ones, and that was backed up by three Blackburn Rovers players all picking up injuries today, most notably young star Phil Jones, who picked up a knee injury which is expected to end him season. Such a shame for a promising young English talent.

Given that Qatar might want to stage their World Cup in the winter of 2021/22, maybe it would be best for the FA to act soon and let the players adjust to the change.

I suppose we can't expect snow every winter at the extent we've had it lately?



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Regardless, this weekend should make the FA sit up, take notice and act so that the football doesn't suffer.