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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
James Whaling

Oxford vs Wigan suspended due to floodlight fire as Kassam Stadium evacuated

Oxford's League One clash against Wigan was suspended due to a floodlight fire at the Kassam Stadium.

The ground was evacuated at half-time with the score at 0-0.

The match had already been delayed from Saturday when it could not go ahead due to a frozen pitch.

Oxford tweeted: "There's a fire in the floodlights so the second half will be delayed until the fire brigade arrive.

"The stadium is being evacuated. We will update you when we know more. Got to run."

They then added: "Everyone is safely outside the building, the fire brigade are here and discussions are still ongoing. Please bear with us."

Footage from outside the ground showed three fire engines arriving at the stadium, which is also being used to administer Covid-19 vaccines.

A fire in the floodlights caused a halt to proceedings (Andrew Fosker/BPI/REX/Shutterstock)

After a short delay, those present were allowed back into the stadium and it was confirmed - as long as the lights were working safely - the game could resume. The second half kicked off just after 5.45pm.

Oxford boss Karl Robinson said: "We were coming out at half-time and we could smell burning through the air vents.

"We were told to quickly evacuate the building.

"The vaccinations are going on here as well so there are far more important things than football happening at the stadium.

The Kassam Stadium was evacuated (Dennis Goodwin/ProSports/REX/Shutterstock)
The stadium is also being used to administer Covid-19 vaccines (Andrew Fosker/BPI/REX/Shutterstock)

"There's a leak in one of the rooms which contribute towards the floodlights and that's where the burning was coming from.

"The fire brigade settled it down and cut off whatever they needed to cut off.

"It's just another strange scenario that's been put in front of us. It's been a crazy, crazy 48 hours."

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