Football and travel chaos seem to go hand-in-hand over winter, but no one’s had it quite as bad as Tottenham fans in 1996.
Even in modern football with heated pitches, games can still be cancelled, and at the very least that decision is made ahead of time.
Spurs' 1996 FA Cup tie started with a smattering of snow, and then a full-blown blizzard hit
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Spurs' 1996 FA Cup tie started with a smattering of snow, and then a full-blown blizzard hitCredit: Getty
Soon players were barely even visable
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Soon players were barely even visableCredit: @Lilywhite_Rose on X
However, back at the start of the Premier League era, the decision to suspend a match was called not 15 minutes beforehand, but 15 minutes after kick off.
It wasn’t as if Spurs fans didn’t have to travel far, either, as the infamous FA Cup fifth round tie was against Nottingham Forest.
The distance from Spurs’ White Hart Lane to the City Ground was a whole 125 miles, or three hours on a day without snow. Unfortunately on February 19, there was plenty.
The weather began to change an hour before kick off when snow started falling, but forecasts back then weren’t good enough to predict the chaos that was about to unfold.
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Just ten minutes into the clash a blizzard hit the City Ground, and five minutes later things became unbearable.
Officials attempted to salvage things by swapping the standard white ball for an orange winter one, but even those efforts were vain.
The pitch’s white lines soon blended into their new background and the only decision left for referee Gary Willard to take was a suspension.
Speaking at the time, Tottenham manager Gerry Francis said: "It became impossible.
“Everyone on the line would have got pneumonia if they had stayed out any longer. We would have turned into snowmen.
"No arguments, it had become ridiculous. I’m disappointed, of course, because we had started well."
Looking back at photos, it's easy to see why the match was called off
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Looking back at photos, it's easy to see why the match was called offCredit: @90sfootball X
TV footage looked like something from a good 60 years prior
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TV footage looked like something from a good 60 years priorCredit: @Lilywhite_Rose on X
His opposite number at Forest, Frank Clark, was in agreement, saying: "There was nothing else that the referee could do tonight.
"I have not seen a snowstorm like it since I was a boy in the North-east."
However, there may have been one disagreement, with Francis concerned whether a booking for Jason Dozzell would stand.
"If there had been a goal, it would not have counted," he said.
Luckily for Francis, he was able to duck for cover in the City Ground’s tunnel to speak to the press, but the same couldn’t be said for his team’s supporters.
The match became part of Tottenham folklore with talks of epic journeys back to London through thick and treacherous snow.
Haaland's father was playing for Forest at the time, and would have been used to the weather from his childhood in Norway
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Haaland's father was playing for Forest at the time, and would have been used to the weather from his childhood in NorwayCredit: Getty
The match contained a number of Premier League greats like Sol Campbell, Teddy Sheringham and Kevin Campell, while on the bench was Alf Inge Haaland, a man infinitely more famous now thanks to his already iconic son.
The FA managed to re-arrange the match just nine days later, and it was a 2-2 draw in far better conditions, with Ian Woan and Chris Armstrong both netting doubles.
However, Spurs fans thinking they might finally get a reward for their February 19th struggles were left disappointed by the return leg in London, as Forest qualified for the next round with a win on penalties.