GLASGOW skipper Tom Brennan vigorously refuted Poole claims his side “pressured” referee Wayne Jarvis into abandoning the SGB Championship play-off semi-final first leg.

With the hosts leading 17-13 in Scotland on Sunday, a downpour of rain meant a lengthy delay ensued while track staff worked on the racing surface.

Paul Starke then hit the fence in race six, with referee Jarvis calling off the meeting much to Poole’s dismay due to unfit track conditions.

Pirates promoter Danny Ford and his riders were clearly unimpressed by the outcome, with Ford claiming Glasgow had “put the pressure on the referee” to make the decision.

But Great Britain star Brennan, who is set to line up for Tigers at Wimborne Road tomorrow, hit back at those claims.

The 21-year-old said: “We certainly didn’t pressure the referee, not at all. Every decision we make, we only do as a team if we can.

“But it’s not correct that we wanted the meeting to end. I don’t know where that has come from. I was present in all discussions, we just wanted safe conditions for a fair play-off semi-final.

“The Glasgow team had a big discussion together. It was clear the track was unsafe after heat five was run, it was very icy on the inside.

“Poole wanted to carry on but we were a little bit hesitant and we wanted to see what happened after track work, then we could make a decision.

“Then in heat six Paul Starke had a crash. It was quite obvious then that the track wasn’t raceable.

“The referee had a very tricky decision to make. He came to the conclusion to abandon the meeting, no one else. He followed every single protocol and above all he went with rider safety.”

With the sides set to do it all again in the second leg at Glasgow on Saturday, Brennan admitted the scheduling had become “crazy”.

He added: “The last thing any of the team wanted was to have to restage the meeting, it’s a nightmare for us.

“There was absolutely no benefit in calling the meeting off. Myself and Ben Basso have a crazy schedule ahead for instance. We are both riding in SGP2 in Poland on Friday and I also have a FIM European Under-23 Team final in Tarnow on Sunday.

“Plus, it’s the Premiership play-offs for Belle Vue on Thursday and Monday. So it’s going to be hectic and the last thing I wanted was the Poole meeting to have to be restaged.”