CITY have responded to a statement from Walsall Football Club which implies referee Mark Hayward called off Monday's Coca-Cola League One fixture at Banks's Stadium following a 'consultation' with Canary boss Paul Lambert.
The Midlands club say they have complained to the Football League following Mr Hayward's decision to postpone the fixture to protect the players from playing on a partially frozen pitch.
Despite the best efforts of Banks's Stadium groundstaff to defrost the pitch using fires in old oil drums, Mr Hayward felt the condition of the pitch had deteriorated in rapidly falling temperatures to a point where players on both sides were at risk of injury if the game went ahead.
City Chief Executive David McNally said: "Once again, we wish to point out the only person ultimately responsible for the decision to call off the match is the referee. Whether we agree with his decision or not is immaterial - the responsibility for deciding whether the fixture can go ahead is his and his alone.
"We are surprised and disappointed that they appear to be questioning his professional integrity over this matter.
"We are however pleased that Walsall have agreed to refund any supporters who purchased tickets for the postponed match who cannot attend the re-arranged fixture on January 12. They had originally contacted us this morning to say they would not be paying any refunds to anyone, but have reversed their decision after we appealed to them to reconsider."
For the benefit of any Norwich City supporters who may not have read referee Mark Hayward's comments on the postponement, here is what he told Chris Lakey of the Eastern Daily Press after the postponement was confirmed:
"We can only apologise for the lateness, but they have tried so hard to get the game on.
"There are just odd areas of the pitch where it's still firm. Obviously the really hard frost we had over the last few days hasn't helped. The ground staff have worked as hard as they can and done a tremendous job, but unfortunately there is an element of risk if we play the game regarding players' safety and I am not prepared to risk players getting injured, possibly do a cruciate and be out for the rest of the season. So unfortunately, on those grounds and due to the pockets of ice, we have said we will postpone the game to a later date.
"I don't think anybody wanted the decision, but I think it is the right decision. Once we talk about players' safety, which is the paramount thing for us, I think both managers understood - as I understand it they had agreed it was a risk and it's not a risk worth taking.
"The ground staff have worked really hard and the improvements they have made since I was here this morning have been tremendous. It's just that they have run out of time."
