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LONDON: Britain's sporting weekend was decimated by heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures with Sunday's Premier League showdown between Chelsea and Manchester United among the hundreds of fixtures to be called off.
The hugely anticipated top-of-the table clash was one of seven weekend Premier League games to be postponed as conditions around stadiums were often deemed too dangerous even if the under-soil heated pitches were in playable condition.
Sunderland beat the freeze, and Bolton 1-0, to move sixth and in Saturday's only other game to survive in the top flight Blackburn Rovers drew 1-1 with West Ham United.
All of Sunday's Premier League matches were called off, including the one at Stamford Bridge. No decision has been made about Manchester City's Monday night home game against Everton.
England's Championship (second division) clubs proved more hardy with seven games possible, although Ipswich Town's evening clash against Leicester City was played on a thick carpet of snow with an orange ball and few lines visible.
Arsenal could have gone top with a win over Stoke City but heavy snow arrived and the game was called off.
“Further to a huge deluge of snow in north London starting over Emirates Stadium at 11.38 a.m. the match referee Lee Mason made the decision at 12.07 p.m. to postpone today's match,” the club said in a statement.
“Approximately three inches of snow fell over this half hour period and there continues to be heavy snowfall with no apparent let-up.”
Liverpool's evening kickoff at home to Fulham was also a victim of the Arctic conditions with temperatures predicted to drop to minus six Celsius.
“The safety of all fans attending the game is paramount and although the Anfield pitch is playable, the conditions around the stadium for people travelling to the match are such that the decision was taken, following police advice on safety grounds, to postpone the game,” the club said.
Wigan Athletic's game against Aston Villa also went after what the club described as “freak snow”.
In Leagues One and Two only Exeter City against Sheffield Wednesday survived while just a handful of games took place in Scotland.
Rugby was similarly hard-hit with widespread postponements in the English leagues, the British and Irish Cup and the Heineken Cup.
Even though conditions in France were not so bad, Toulouse's Heineken Cup game against Newcastle on Saturday was postponed for 24 hours because of the travel difficulties faced by the English club.
The French Ligue 1 soccer match between Lens and Caen was also put back to Sunday because of heavy snow.
In horse racing in Britain, only Southwell survived after Ascot, Lingfield, Haydock and Newcastle were all called off.
Sunday's meeting on the all-weather surface at Kempton Park is off because of the snow and Carlisle has also been abandoned.
