This is why a pitch inspection is made on match day.....

[mikedn]

Well there's nothing but fog around and to cap it all its raining. Get to the pitch(in a park some 10 miles away) and nothing but fog but its not raining i have arrived 45 minutes before K.O. And i've got a long walk from car park to the changing rooms and its really foggy . Get to the pitch and the groundsman says "surely you're not playing in that?" I look over and its foggy...ish but didn't look too bad. So i walk over to one of the goals and i can quite clearly see the other goal and all four corner posts...... so game on...... Two happy teams who wanted to play the game.
So i say to the groundsman " I thought you had another match on the next pitch as well?"
He says " Both team managers came here last night and said it was too foggy and muddy and called it off" I was dumbstruck !!
By half time(14.45) the fog had lifted and it was clear as a bell. I'd like to see them explain that to the league.......... my match finished 8-5 to the away team with 3 bookings.....Game finished at 15.40..... now getting dark and the fog is coming down. By the time i came out of the changing rooms and looked over to the pitch some 50 yards away i couldn't see it for the fog..................

 

[RefJef]

I arrived at my game today at about 1:15 for a 2:00 pm kick off. Foggy on the drive there but on arrival at the pitch it was, at worst, misty. Met & chatted with both managers, went out to do my pitch inspection, whilst still doing that at 1.30 ish the teams came out to begin warming up.

And then the fog started rolling in. Still playable, but you could no longer see the changing rooms from the pitch & vice versa. Ho hum, I thought, this aint looking good.

Quick chat with both managers and we all agreed to kick off at 1:45, which we did.

As it happened, the fog cleared - I'd like to say a great game of football was played, but it wasn't, the muddy pitch paid to that, and the home team who realised the way to play was to hoof the ball over the top to a good centre forward won 10-2, whilst the no doubt skillful sapling of a lad who was upfront for the away team looked like bambi on ice for most of the game.

 

[JamesL]

Yeh I am always mistrusting of games being called off the day before. All for people not travelling unneccessarily. We have a problem with councils closing pitches this way. They do it on a Friday or earlier and when the day comes around the game could have been played.

 

[mikedn]

Yeh I am always mistrusting of games being called off the day before. All for people not travelling unneccessarily. We have a problem with councils closing pitches this way. They do it on a Friday or earlier and when the day comes around the game could have been played.

Same here, message on county website saying councils(3 within area bordering each other) allowing games, but county saying subject to referee inspection.
I've been told councils blanket ban games not just for the condition of pitches but to prevent too much damage done to them.