Referee Andre Marriner has insisted there was no alternative but to call off last night’s match between Palace and Southampton.
Torrential rain fell for around 24 hours before the scheduled kick-off time, leaving large areas of the St Mary’s pitch submerged by water.
Marriner eventually called off the match at 5.15pm after deciding the playing surface was unplayable and the bad weather was not going to let up.
"The first consideration is the safety of the players," Marriner said. "I went out and the ball would barely move which would have made the game a farce,"
"We had a look at the forecast, which showed a further 17.2mm of rain was likely to fall during the game.
"Even if the groundsmen could have worked on it until kick-off to get the pitch playable, it would not be long before it was under water again. In fairness to the fans it was best to call it off earlier.
"It was a shame but there was no alternative."