Histon Chairman In Swipe at Swansea City

Histon chairman Gareth Baldwin has accused Swansea City of pressuring referee Phil Crossley into postponing today's game.

Referee Crossley called the game off at around midday, saying that it may not be able to finish the game due to the freezing temperatures in the region.

And a frustrated Baldwin took it upon himself to lay the blame at the door of the Swans.

Speaking to BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Baldwin said:

'The Swansea officials were on their phones to the FA from nine o'clock this morning saying the pitch was not safe.'

He added: 'We tried to get the referee to wait another half-hour or 45 minutes - the temperature has changed and the top inch of the pitch is now wet.'

'I spoke to the referee on the telephone at 0930, and he said that Swansea were already in Cambridge, so there was no issue - so let's get the game on.'

'But when he arrived, he had the assistant manager of Swansea and a number of their staff in his earhole, saying the pitch was not fit.'

'As I explained to him, the Swansea fans left at 0600 this morning, so whether we called it off at 1130, 1200 or even 1230, it wouldn't have made any difference.'

'All we asked of him was to wait another half-hour, but he's made his decision based on the weather forecast.'

He wasn't finished there, and told BBC Radio Wales:

'Swansea didn't want to play it, there's no question about that.'

'They were saying it is not safe and not playable but you can see it's already got a bit of give in the surface.'

'I understand they are a Championship side with very high-paid players that they've got to protect.'

'Maybe it would have suited us a bit better playing today with it being a bit tricky but there you go, that's life.'

The club released a statement saying that Graeme Jones never left the team hotel, so Baldwin must be 'a bit confused'.

Let us know your opinion of the Histon chairman in the forum.

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.