Burnley were counting the very real cost of the incessant Lancashire rain last night after the Turf Moor pitch was transformed into a quagmire which prompted the postponement of their FA Cup third-round tie against Liverpool.

The Championship club could lose up to £200,000 from the cancellation, their hopes of recouping that amount hanging on Sky agreeing to televise the re-scheduled game, most likely to be played on January 18th. That decision is dependent on there being no more attractive replays arising from this weekend's games and scheduled for that evening.

"We are pleading with Sky to come and televise the replayed game," said the Burnley chief executive Dave Edmundson, whose club was due £150,000 in television rights as well as other monies raised through corporate events to be held at the game. "This could cost us upwards of £200,000. It's a bitter blow and we literally can't afford it.

"There will be many people who decry this decision (to cancel the game). There have been many occasions in the past when pitches haven't been 100 per cent. The covers have been on for 24 hours.

"We have had Football Association consultants working with our ground staff and the people who provide the 'blotters' (the machinery designed to soak up excess water) have said all day the game would go ahead. In my opinion the pitch was 95 per cent fit to play but there was a narrow band the referee was worried about near the touchline."

The referee Mark Clattenburg insisted the game would have been a "farce" had it taken place and he had to take the players' safety into consideration, as well as weather forecasts, in making his decision 50 minutes before the scheduled kick-off.