- Ipswich Town’s home game against Everton was due to start at 3pm.
- But it did not start until 3.15pm after “problems with the turnstiles” on Portman Road.
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Saturday’s Premier League match between Ipswich Town and Everton failed to start on time due to “turnstile issues”.
The match, Ipswich’s fourth home game following promotion to the Premier League, was due to start at 3pm.
However, it was delayed by 15 minutes.
The club issued a brief statement through social networks at 2:39 p.m. It said: ‘We are aware of an issue with the turnstiles, which is affecting fans entering Portman Road ahead of this afternoon’s match. We ask for your patience while we work on a solution.’
A second statement, 11 minutes later, added: “This afternoon’s match will begin at 3:15 p.m.”
The match between Everton and Ipswich Town on Saturday has been delayed from 3pm to 3.15pm.
Ipswich released a statement at 2.39pm informing fans of a ‘turnstile issue’
The problem had resulted in thousands of supporters being unable to enter Portman Road.
Fans pictured waiting outside Portman Road where kick-off had to be delayed.
Meanwhile, Everton attributed the delay to “IT issues”.
The Toffees tweeted from their official
Everton’s players had already finished their pre-match warm-up when news of the delay broke.
Sean Dyche’s men then returned to the pitch to continue warming up.
The problems at Portman Road meant the stadium was nowhere near 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 localized power issue”, had been resolved and the stadium was soon full.
Everton reported via X (formerly Twitter) that the match had been delayed due to ‘computer problems’
Ipswich confirmed at 3.05pm that the problem, reportedly a “power issue”, had been resolved.
As both clubs had promised, the match began at 3:15 p.m.
Fans had to wait just 17 minutes for the first goal, scored by Everton attacking midfielder Iliman Ndiaye.
Famous Ipswich fan Ed Sheeran was in the crowd on Saturday.