Premier League game, other soccer in Europe off due to storm

By: The Associated Press Posted: 5:40 AM CST Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020 Last Modified: 8:51 AM CST Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020

LONDON - Manchester City's Premier League game against West Ham on Sunday was called off due to a storm battering northern Europe.

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LONDON - Manchester City's Premier League game against West Ham on Sunday was called off due to a storm battering northern Europe.

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This article was published 09/02/2020 (2424 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LONDON – Manchester City’s Premier League game against West Ham on Sunday was called off due to a storm battering northern Europe.

The announcement was made five hours before the scheduled kickoff in the northern English city of Manchester, with City citing safety concerns due to “extreme and escalating weather conditions.”

It was one of only four scheduled Premier League games this weekend in the competition’s first split winter break. Sheffield United’s home game against Bournemouth went ahead as scheduled despite high winds before kick-off.

Waves crash into the wall at Newhaven south east England, as Storm Ciara, named by the Met Office national weather agency, hits the UK, Sunday Feb. 9, 2020. Trains, flights and ferries have been cancelled and weather warnings issued across the United Kingdom as a storm with hurricane-force winds up to 80 mph (129 kph) batters the region. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)

Widespread disruption is expected to train services, which could cause problems for fans making the long journey from Bournemouth on the south coast.

The storm impacted the Women’s Super League with postponements including Sunday’s high-profile clash at Goodison Park for the Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool, and a North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham.

Non-league club Wisbech Town posted pictures on Twitter of storm damage to its stadium. A stand had collapsed and goalposts were bent backwards.

Storm Ciara, named by the Met Office national weather agency, was expected to bring winds up to 90 mph (129 kph) as well as heavy rains. The British agency has issued 22 emergency flood warnings and 149 flood watch alerts.

The storm has led to soccer games in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands also being postponed.

German title challenger Borussia Mönchengladbach’s game against Cologne has been called off. Gladbach said that the game itself would likely not have been affected but that fans could face a dangerous journey home.

There was no word of the storm affecting Sunday’s other Bundesliga game between league leader Bayern Munich and Leipzig.

Both of Sunday’s top-tier league games in the Netherlands were called off, including Ajax’s visit to Utrecht, along with amateur games at all levels. The Dutch soccer federation said “the safety of supporters and players cannot be guaranteed” amid the storm.

Three games in the Belgian league and all second-tier fixtures were also postponed.

In other sports, two Super League rugby games were called off in the north of England, along with a women’s Six Nations rugby union game between Scotland and England, and various horse-racing events.

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More AP English soccer: https://apnews.com/PremierLeague and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports