Lights out for Raith Rovers as Fife derby is abandoned due to power cut

With no lighting in two of the stands where fans were seated, Police Scotland’s match commander took the decision to stop the match - which was being broadcast live on BBC Scotland - citing safety concerns.

The Championship clash had started over five minutes late after all the lights in the stadium, including the floodlights, had gone out shortly before the kick off.

The power cut had also left hundreds of fans of both clubs stranded outside as the match kicked off as stewards had no access to wi-fi so were unable to scan barcodes on supporters’ tickets.

Raith Director Bill Clark said it was “embarrassing” for the club and said there would be a full investigation.

“It’s a massive disappointment,” he said.

“I want to give our huge apologies to everybody. To all the supporters, the people watching it on TV, the media and everyone else who has assembled here tonight for what should have been a cracking match.

“It’s embarrassing for the club obviously but until we get to the bottom of it and find out exactly what went wrong, I can’t give any further explanation.

The club had a complete refit of the electronics at Stark’s Park over the summer and installed the brand new floodlights at a cost of nearly a quarter of a million pounds.

“It’s the first night we’ve used these floodlights,” Mr Clark said, “they’ve been tested but somehow tonight they just blew.

“All the office lights and the concourse lights went out too. There has obviously been a power surge or overload of some kind.

“We will need to investigate this in detail.”

Mr Clark said he feared there would be “repercussions” from the SPFL for the abandonment.

The match will be rescheduled in due course.