UPDATED: Northern Ireland’s World Cup clash called off

Tonight’s World Cup qualifier between Northern Ireland and Russia has been called off due to severe weather conditions.

The match, held at Windsor Park, has been rescheduled for 3pm on Saturday, weather permitting.

Snow covered the pitch overnight and continued to fall throughout the day, frustrating the efforts of Irish Football Association staff, who worked tirelessly in an attempt to try and clear the ground of settled snow.

The snow also forced the closure of the runway at George Best Belfast City Airport and there were concerns over the safety of fans travelling to the Northern Ireland match.

Norwegian referee Tom Hagen began a series of inspections at 10am but it always looked unlikely that the match would get the green light and the decision to postpone the fixture was made at 2.30pm.

More bad weather is expected on Friday night and into Saturday, raising concerns about whether the match will be able to take place this weekend at all.

Windsor Park, which is home to Irish League outfit Linfield, is among the more basic on the international circuit, and does not have any under-soil heating.

Northern Ireland are also due to host Israel on Tuesday but that game may also be doubtful, with the pitch not likely to be in a good condition if the Russia match goes ahead.

And Fabio Capello’s Russia side are due to play Brazil in a friendly at Stamford Bridge on Monday, but now face the prospect of a one-day break between matches.