Fulham will call on referee Rob Styles for support after the Premier League demanded an explanation for the postponement of Saturday's game against Blackburn at Craven Cottage.

Following an inspection just over 90 minutes before kick-off, Styles insisted that the frozen pitch posed a danger to players.

But Styles also admitted he had "every sympathy" for the London club, whose ground has no undersoil heating but had been covered for most of the preceding fortnight.

He revealed that most of the pitch was playable at 1.15pm. But beneath heavy cloud cover there was a fear that conditions would have got worse before the final whistle had the match gone ahead.

Styles said: "There were some areas of the field where it was a little bit bare and where it was literally iron hard. It had just frozen."

Responding to the fixtures at Fulham and Portsmouth - who were due to host Manchester City - being called off, a Premier League spokesman said: "We received confirmation from all clubs this season that they had adequate pitch protection systems, effective to minus three degrees.

"We will ask both clubs and the match officials to set out the circumstances surrounding the postponements."

It is understood that Fulham and Portsmouth could be fined, but they will not be docked points.