Abandoned games rule changes

[AustrianAndyGull]

I was just looking and laughing about Brizzles trip to Wycombe on saturday when they were 3-1 up and the game was abandoned due to poor weather. Firstly i think some of the rules could be changed. I think that if one team is 2 or more goals ahead after a certain waypoint in the game, say 65 or 70 minutes and the game is abandoned then that team should be awarded the game. If the game is level then then the team that won the toss to kick off should also pick heads or tails and the ref toss a coin to see who wins the game. After all, penalties is like the toss of a coin and it would save all the hassle of a replay. Have Torquay ever been involved in an abandoned game in the last ten years does anyone know?

[happytorq]

I was just looking and laughing about Brizzles trip to Wycombe on saturday when they were 3-1 up and the game was abandoned due to poor weather. Firstly i think some of the rules could be changed. I think that if one team is 2 or more goals ahead after a certain waypoint in the game, say 65 or 70 minutes and the game is abandoned then that team should be awarded the game.

No, I don't like idea. Football is supposed to be a 90 minute game. Plus, what's to prevent some kind of corruption...let's see. Example; last day of the season, Rotherham need to win by goals to get promoted. They go 2-0 up but have a player sent off early in the second half. Suddenly, in 66 minutes, Steve Evans disappears and all the lights go off. Oh, it's a power failure! See why this would be a problem.

If the game is level then then the team that won the toss to kick off should also pick heads or tails and the ref toss a coin to see who wins the game. After all, penalties is like the toss of a coin and it would save all the hassle of a replay. Have Torquay ever been involved in an abandoned game in the last ten years does anyone know?

If you're going to say that, we might as well forget about playing the actual games and just watch a coin spinning contest once a year to see who wins the league. Although I can't tell if this is serious or not.

[AustrianAndyGull]

I was only putting things out there Happy for you guys to come up with better ideas, i didn't expect such an abrupt response. I do see your point about the lights but it could be done for weather related abandonments i suppose. Also why don't we play the remainder of the game behind closed doors like they do in spain? For example if Real Madrid v Osasuna gets abandoned after 78 minutes they play the remaining 12 on another day at the score as it was when it was abandoned.

[ferrarilover]

Basingstoke were 2-0 up as the clock ticked to 90 mins as recently as yesterday (courtesy of a Tim Sills goal). They managed to hold on for a point and a 2-2 draw in the end. Matches change that far in that amount of time far more often than it would be safe to disregard.

Perhaps if a team was 10-0 up with 30 seconds to go, then that would be safe, but since that will never happen, and if it does, then so be it, it seems a pointless change.

Just replay the game, if a team is genuinely superior, then they should have no problem repeating the feat. If not, then perhaps they didn't deserve to be leading in the first place.

For the frequency that it happens, it's something that fans will just have to put up with, since there is no way to recreate the exact conditions of the match at the time. The Rovers fans all suggesting a conspiracy theory are making me laugh my boots off. Apparently, Rovers are so important to Wycombe that they will do anything, up to and including corrupting a health and safety official to fabricate a report suggesting that lightening hit a stand, bribing a referee to collude with the H&S man, as well as the myriad other officials who would need to be either paid or threatened to go along with this mad theory.

Occam's Razor tells us that the simplest answer is almost always correct. Tell me this, tin foil hat Rovers fans, is it more likely that the aforementioned scenario is correct, or that the stand was, in fact, struck by lightening?

Matt.

[AustrianAndyGull]

Occam's Razor, not heard that since Uni! What about teams resuming abandoned games from the scoreline it was abandoned at then and the time it was abandoned at then like they do in Europe?

[Dave]

I feel a tad sorry for Rovers to be honest, wonder how quick the Wycombe safety officer would have been to act if Wycombe were 3.1 up, reading what some of the Rovers fans are saying it took quite some time for them to get out of the ground, no one was hurt seems to suggest they were in no real danger.

There was thunder and lightning going off all around the London area no other game was pulled, maybe the ref could have used some common sense like the one who reffereed the Cheltenham match, he took the players off for 10 minutes waited for the weather to clear and resumed the match.

Good idea Andy, re-start the match from the time its was stopped, with the scoreline standing, that would stop any dodgey practise going on.

[oldpedant]

Good idea Andy, re-start the match from the time its was stopped, with the scoreline standing, that would stop any dodgey practise going on.

Tricky. Would you have the same teams as when the game stopped even if those players have been injured later? How many substitutions allowed from the restart? Do yellow cards carry over from the initial game? The winning team could play a team of 11 defenders and/or the losing team 10 attacking players and a goalkeeper. It might become farcical. To me, it's simpler just to replay the whole thing.

You might find this article interesting, where the result of an abandoned match was allowed to stand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bramall_Lane" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[bixieupnorth]

i was cursing the decision as it was in a winning 4 way quad, dropped the odds from 40/1 to 14s, bloody bookies should be made to pay out as it was pretty obvious the gas were gonna hang on for the 3 points

[AustrianAndyGull]

Tricky. Would you have the same teams as when the game stopped even if those players have been injured later? How many substitutions allowed from the restart? Do yellow cards carry over from the initial game? The winning team could play a team of 11 defenders and/or the losing team 10 attacking players and a goalkeeper. It might become farcical. To me, it's simpler just to replay the whole thing.

You might find this article interesting, where the result of an abandoned match was allowed to stand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bramall_Lane" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's what happens in Spain though. I believe all the statistics still stand like bookings and things but i'm not sure what happens with regards the line ups. As for a team who is winning 2-1 when a game is called off with 12 minutes to go for example, if they want to resume the game at a later date and play 11 defenders then i don't see what is wrong with that, they are just protecting a lead. The other team could play 11 attackers couldn't they? They woul be screwed though if the other team equalised and they are left with 11 attackers on the pitch though!

[Dave]

Tricky. Would you have the same teams as when the game stopped even if those players have been injured later? How many substitutions allowed from the restart? Do yellow cards carry over from the initial game? The winning team could play a team of 11 defenders and/or the losing team 10 attacking players and a goalkeeper. It might become farcical. To me, it's simpler just to replay the whole thing.

You might find this article interesting, where the result of an abandoned match was allowed to stand.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bramall_Lane

Many thanks for that link, however I am well aware of this, if a team has more than 4 players sent off the game would be awarded to the other side automaticly regardless of the scoreline at that time, I am not sure whether it is awarded as a 2.0 or 3.0 result though, the match would not be replayed, which to me is right, there is nothing stopping a manager losing 3.0 with 7 players getting a message on to the team, to have a player do what ever he needs to do to get sent off, gaining a replayed game, which would not be right.

I do take what your saying, you have put forward a few things I had not thought of, in most cases when a game is adandoned due to weather it is purely because the pitch has become unplayable, in the case of Rovers Wycombe however, I have read as much about this as I can, and it stinks, I do think Rovers have been done like a kipper, and whilst I wont lose much sleep over it, would be mad if that had happened to us.

[friendlygas]

Having been present at the game in question. I would say that I wouldnt have been happy if the game had been abandoned for a waterlogged pitch as the referee allowed it to go on from half time to the 67th minute but it would certainly have been better than allowing a Wycombe official (The H & S man) to make this decision. I would add that surely with a precedant set in the recent Euros where the start of the match was delayed for an hour for a far worst lightning storm that surely the referee should have told the H & s man that he would hold the game up for an hour.
It absolutely amazes me that the FA has taken no interest whatsoever in this decision but had Manchester United been involved in this sort of decision I am sure the FA would be looking for any excuse to become involved!!

[ferrarilover]

Firstly, you don't know what the FA is doing, they might have a team of specialists conducting tests as we speak.

Secondly, as far as the FA are concerned, I suspect that there is absolutely nothing to warrant an investigation. The H&S man (who, in all likelihood, doesn't give a shit about WWFC and football in general, which is why he was working on at 1500 on a Saturday and not at a match as a supporter) wrote a report which says he took the view that lightening had struck the stand and that, in his opinion, represented a sufficiently serious risk to the H&S of the players/fans/officials that the best option was to report to the referee that the match must be stopped. Corroborating that is the report from the referee (who also is not a WWFC fan, so no conspiracy here) which says that he quizzed the H&S official since the referee himself is no expert in such matters, and was advised that it was best all round if we went home and tried again at a later date. Conscious that it is he who will be at liberty to prosecution by criminal, civil and media institutions should anything terrible happen (like a player getting hit by lightening), he chose the contrite option and called it off.
Since they don't give a toss what either set of supporters have to say, nor either club (I suspect), and there is no alternative evidence available (unless the referee mysteriously turns up at his next match in a Ferrari, wearing a Rolex and an Armani suit) to suggest that any sort of conspiracy has taken place, there is no need for the FA investigate anything.

Thirdly, why on Earth would these people go to such lengths to have a match called off? You do realise that you'd be talking about one of the most serious instances of match fixing involving officials in the history of the game in the UK. Really, in a totally bog standard 3-1 reverse at Wycombe Wanderers against Bristol Rovers? Face it, no one really cares enough about either club to risk their careers to engineer a false outcome.

And lastly, I too am surprised the FA aren't involved, we're always being told that Rovers are a massive club, I thought they'd have been top of the priorities down Wembley way. 8/

Matt.

[Dave]

Having been present at the game in question. I would say that I wouldnt have been happy if the game had been abandoned for a waterlogged pitch as the referee allowed it to go on from half time to the 67th minute but it would certainly have been better than allowing a Wycombe official (The H & S man) to make this decision. I would add that surely with a precedant set in the recent Euros where the start of the match was delayed for an hour for a far worst lightning storm that surely the referee should have told the H & s man that he would hold the game up for an hour.It absolutely amazes me that the FA has taken no interest whatsoever in this decision but had Manchester United been involved in this sort of decision I am sure the FA would be looking for any excuse to become involved!!

The referee also took the players off in the Aldershot/Cheltenham match and resumed the game after a ten minute break, the ref could and should have done the same in your game, agreed.

If this had happened in a match involving any of the top clubs the F.A would be jumping through hoops, agreed there aswell, I do feel sorry for your club and fans, already said think the situation with the Wycombe match stinks to high heaven, and also said if that had happened to Torquay I am sure we including Matt would be hoping mad.

I do not think this is in any way match fixing, just think pressure may have been put on the ref to call it off, and the ref failed to use his common sense, also think Rovers are not going to get the outcome over this they want, just going to have to hope you win the replayed match and justice will then be done.