The Sky Bet Championship match between Blackburn and Ipswich will be replayed at Ewood Park on Tuesday 2nd December. Here’s a reminder why.
Why is the game repeating itself?
Blackburn hosted Ipswich at Ewood Park on Saturday 20 September and took a 1-0 lead thanks to Todd Cantwell’s 60th minute penalty.
They also had more players than their opponents, thanks to Jacob Greaves’ red card after 49 minutes.
But referee Stephen Martin halted play and sent the players off the pitch with just over 10 minutes of the 90 minutes played, with the playing surface becoming increasingly molten due to heavy rain.
After a break of about 20 minutes, and without significant improvement in the conditions, he made the decision to stop the game.
What did the managers say then?
Speaking on Blackburn’s YouTube channel on September 23, Valerien Ismael made it clear that the decision was not in his hands.
He said: “We had no choice but to accept the decision. We put our attitude to the situation, we prepared our case, to understand that we were in the lead at the time, so we expect to get the award, because I think it’s fair.”
“One thing, from my side, has to be really clear. I never agreed to stop the game. I had no choice, because the referee made it clear that he had to leave the game. He said he was sorry and the EFL would make a decision.
Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna said: “It was impossible to finish the game. From the start of the second half the pitch really went to the point of impossibility.”
“It was really slushy before the game started, but the ball rolled well in the first half. It held a little bit. But in the second half, the surface was too slippery to be safe, and then the ball stopped moving.”
“It was an inevitable decision that perhaps could have been made earlier. In the end there was no other option.”
What about the EFL?
A brief statement released on Wednesday September 24 read: “Following the abandonment of the Sky Bet Championship match between Blackburn Rovers and Ipswich Town, the two clubs have been given until 4pm today to submit any final league representations.
“Once we receive the submissions it will be discussed by the EFL board before the end of this week and the outcome will be confirmed shortly after.
This was discussed on Ref Watch…
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The Ref Watch panel discuss what should happen next for Blackburn’s match with Ipswich after it was abandoned due to a waterlogged pitch, despite Rovers leading 1-0 in the 80th minute
And you said yours…
We ran a poll on skisports.com, asking: “Of the possible options, how should the EFL rule for Blackburn vs Ipswich?”
Fifty-eight percent of voters opted to restart the game from where it was suspended, with Blackburn 1-0 up, 31 percent voted to award Blackburn a 1-0 win, and 11 percent voted for the game to be replayed as a whole.
But what decision was made?
“The board comprehensively considered all available options in accordance with the regulations, together with the representatives of both clubs. In the end it was decided by a majority to replay the match in full,” the EFL said in a statement released on Thursday, September 25.
“The decision follows recent precedents relating to abandoned matches and is intended to uphold the integrity of the league competition which should, whenever possible, be based on the full set of games played to the end of the day.”
“The board recognized that this was an incredibly difficult decision and agreed to consult with the clubs on the best approach to developing new guidelines to be considered in the event of match suspensions.”
On Wednesday, October 1, Mr. Ski Sports News reported that Ipswich will not consider allowing Blackburn to score unopposed during their altered fixture.
On Thursday, October 9, it was confirmed that the match will be replayed on Tuesday, December 2 at 19:45.
What was the response of the clubs?
Blackburn released a statement which read: “Whilst Blackburn Rovers respects the processes undertaken by the EFL and acknowledges the complexities involved, the club is extremely disappointed with the outcome, which does not take into account the significant advantages Rovers had at the time of leaving.”
“Blackburn Rovers are committed to preserving the integrity of the competition; however, we strongly feel that the decision to replay the entire match does not accurately reflect the circumstances of the day.”
Speaking in a video posted on the club’s X account, Ismael added: “I have to be careful with what I say; I don’t want to put myself in danger, but I’ll just say: it’s a shameful decision.
“It’s really bad publicity for English football. I’ve had a lot of messages from overseas, where myself, from sporting directors, general managers, players, colleagues, managers and everyone has been shocked by it. It just shows that it’s not right.”
Ipswich noted the decision but did not react at the time. however, in an interview with Simeon Gholam of Ski Sports in OctoberMcKenna gave his take on the situation.
“It was a strange day,” he said. “We tried to stay dignified and let things play out. The pitch was incredibly wet. It was playable in the first half but not in the second. The game was rightly called off, albeit very late.”
“It was the only fair decision. We don’t get any points for it, but we’ll go back there later in the season and try to win in fair conditions. We didn’t overdo it. We just moved on and focused on our other games.”