IT was supposed to be a night of celebration at the newly-named DIY Kitchens Stadium as Matty Ashurst led both Wakefield Trinity and Wigan Warriors out for his testimonial.
Not only was Ashurst celebrating a milestone in the game, Wakefield were set for the grand opening of their new Neil Fox Stand after years of hard work.
However, by half-time, it was obvious that there was a significant issue at play that would eventually force referee Chris Kendall to abandon the game for player safety.
At half-time, the floodlights flickered on and off – much to the initial laughter of the crowd – before doing so six times at the start of the second-half.
With Wakefield leading 22-12 as the hour mark passed, the lights went off once more and this time Kendall consulted the Trinity staff before abandoning the game.
Now the Wakefield club has said in a statement last night: “The club would like to apologise to fans, Wigan Warriors and especially to Matty Ashurst for the issues which saw the match tonight abandoned after just over an hour.
“Prior to the game we identified an electrical issue with the new sub station which was installed by contractors. This resulted in the big screen, Brookey’s Bar and Street Kitchen being closed down and switched off in order to try and manage the problem.
“Throughout extensive testing in weeks leading up to the game, the club have had multiple successful floodlight tests and have encountered no similar issues.
“As the game went on, we realised the issue had not been solved and we continued to attempt to isolate the problem alongside our duty electrician within the ground.
“Unfortunately we were unable to solve the problem which led to referee Chris Kendall abandoning the game due to a player safety issue.
“The club will now be doing everything in their power to swiftly resolve the issue and guarantee that this issue will never happen again. Plans are already in motion to hire a new electrical team to source a backup generator.
“We would like to thank everyone who attended the game tonight in support of Matty Ashurst.”
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