Swindon Town release statement regarding Bristol Rovers tickets

Swindon Town chairman Lee Power has published a lengthy statement, in which he described the heavy rain on Saturday as "an act of God."

The Robins faced a backlash from fans on Tuesday afternoon when they indicated that non-season ticket holders would have to buy a second ticket to attend the re-arranged derby against Bristol Rovers, with the original game rained-off after just an hour.

"While we understand supporters' frustration regarding ticket arrangements for the Bristol Rovers replay, what happened on Saturday was an act of God and beyond the club's control," the statement began.

"I (Power) must stress that the club still has a number of costs to meet on a matchday. These costs have increased dramatically due to the fact that this is a derby match."

Power does not disclose how much the costs total.

"If we could reduce these costs then, naturally, these savings would be passed down to the supporters, however in this situation, this is not the case.

"This football club is run on a model of self-sustainability. When additional costs rise, extra revenue needs to be generated to meet those financial demands.

"Our season ticket holders support the team week in, week out and make up more than half of our attendance figure on a matchday so we have decided to reward their loyalty with free entry to the replay. It is unfortunate that a number of our own supporters as well as those who made the trip from Bristol Rovers have been affected."

Swindon have earlier stressed that they will not refund fans of their original ticket.