A massive fire forced the suspension of a match in England

The city of Southampton is known to be a quiet and football city in the United Kingdomwhere relevant news usually comes through the results of the Southampton FCthe city team, currently active in EFL Sky Bet Championshipthe second division of English football.

On Wednesday evening the city would host the match corresponding to the 36th day of the Championship between Soton, as the local team is usually called, and Preston North End FCbut because a factory located in front of the stadium caught fire, the match had to be postponed.

As is normal in England, football clubs’ stadiums are located in built-up areas, with factories and houses around. He Santa Maria Stadiumthe House of saintshas several textile plants nearby and one of them caught fire a few hours before the start of the match, causing serious disruption in the vicinity of the sports facility.

At the time of the fire, in the area of ​​Marine Parade Avenue, between Belvidere Road and Chapel Road, there were fans waiting for the doors to open to enter the stadium and journalists, who were evacuated. The roads were closed to allow firefighters to intervene in the area.

Local authorities have warned and recommended neighbors to stay away from the area and even close the windows of their homes to avoid smoke poisoning.

After consulting all the competent bodies, the organization, through a statement, announced the postponement of the match, without any date confirmed so far.

“We are very grateful for the cooperation of Preston and the EFL, whilst understanding the distress this causes fans. We hope they understand that we must put the safety of fans and club workers first,” the club’s statement read. Saints.

“The huge column of smoke coming out of the building was a daunting sight,” a reporter said Daily echo who approached the scene with another journalist.

“There was a feeling of amazement and fear at the size of the cloud of smoke above our heads and people raised their phones in the air to try to take photographs, including us,” the journalist added, referring to the fire. .

At one point the cloud of smoke coming out of the burned factory was so large that it even covered the stadium.

Official statement from Southampton

Southampton Football Club regrets to announce that tonight’s Sky Bet Championship match against Preston North End has been postponed.

The decision was taken after consultation with local authorities and emergency services after a large fire broke out in a building near St Mary’s Stadium today.

The incident has caused significant disruption to the area and roads around the stadium remain in place as fire crews continue to deal with the situation.

We are grateful for the cooperation of Preston and the EFL and, while we appreciate the disappointment fans may feel, we hope they understand the need to put the safety of fans and staff at both clubs first.

The match will be postponed to a new date, which will be announced in due course, and all tickets for tonight’s match will be valid for the rescheduled match.