- Ipswich Town’s home match against Everton was due to start at 3pm
- But it didn’t start until 3.15pm after ‘turnstile problems’ on Portman Road
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Saturday’s Premier League match between Ipswich Town and Everton could not start on time due to ‘turnstile problems’.
The match, Ipswich’s fourth home game following their promotion to the Premier League, was due to start at 3pm.
However, there was a fifteen minute delay.
The club issued a short statement via social media at 2:39 p.m. It said: ‘We are aware of an issue with the turnstiles which is affecting supporters’ access to Portman Road ahead of this afternoon’s match. We ask for your patience as we work toward a resolution.”
Eleven minutes later, a second statement added: “This afternoon’s match will now start at 3.15pm.”
Kick-off between Everton and Ipswich Town on Saturday was postponed from 3pm to 3.15pm
Ipswich published a statement at 2.39pm informing fans of a ‘problem with the turnstiles’
The issue had prevented thousands of supporters from reaching Portman Road
Fans imagined themselves waiting outside Portman Road, where kick-off had to be postponed
Meanwhile, Everton blamed the delay on ‘IT issues’.
The Toffees tweeted from their official
Everton’s players had already finished their pre-match warm-up when news of the postponement broke.
Sean Dyche’s men then returned to the field to continue warming up.
Due to the problems at Portman Road, the stadium was far from full as the clock approached 3 p.m.
But a third statement from Ipswich at 3.05pm confirmed that the problem, now described as a ‘local power problem’, had been resolved and the stadium soon filled up.
Everton reported via X (formerly Twitter) that the match had been postponed due to ‘IT problems’
Ipswich confirmed at 3.05pm that the problem, said to be a ‘power issue’, had been resolved
As both clubs had promised, the match did indeed start at 3:15 p.m.
Fans had to wait just 17 minutes for the opening goal, which was scored by Everton attacking midfielder Iliman Ndiaye.
Famous Ipswich fan Ed Sheeran was among the crowd on Saturday.