Power failure forces postponement of Millwall’s game at Portsmouth – with crowd safety a big factor in final decision

Portsmouth chief executive Andrew Cullen admitted that despite getting the floodlights back, there was not enough confidence in the game being completed without an issue as Millwall’s clash at Fratton Park was postponed on Tuesday night.

The lights shut off just before kick-off, and both clubs announced on social media that the problem was being investigated.

The game was eventually postponed about 55 minutes after the scheduled 7:45pm kick-off.

There were boos around the stadium after it was announced the game was going to have to be rescheduled.

“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,” Cullen told BBC Radio Solent.

“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 20:30, 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.”